By Rotimi Ijikanmi
The Federal Government on Friday debunked the claim in certain quarters that a Presidency cabal was working toward an Interim National Government (ING).
Speaking on a TVC live programme, “This Morning”, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the claim was the handwork of fifth columnist, planning to destabilise the country.
During the programme monitored the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the minister said the 2023 elections would be conducted free and fair and the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu would emerge victorious.
“Tinubu will win the 2023 Presidential election. APC will succeed itself and there will be no interim government because we have no intention to stay a day after the end of the tenure of this administration.
“As a matter of fact, President Muhammadu Buhari’ has already constituted a transition committee and by the grace of God, we will hand over to the APC candidate, no matter the conspiracy theories all around,” he said.
Justifying his position that Tinubu would win at the polls, the minister said the party and the candidate had been working very hard to emerge victorious.
“The APC Presidential candidate is everywhere and he has campaigned more than other candidates.
“The president, the party and the government are also solidly behind him,” he said.
The minister said Tinubu had prepared for the position he was presently vying for more than 20 years back.
He said from the time Tinubu formed Alliance for Democracy till the time the party merged and metamorphosed to APC, the presidential candidate had been building bridges across the country.
The minister said beside establishing structure across the country, Tinubu had been supporting and sponsoring candidates in Northern, Southern and Eastern states of the country.
Mohammed also said the claim in certain quarters that Buhari was a passive supporter of Tinubu was wrong and the handiwork of mischief makers.
He said people failed to understand that the president wore two caps as president of the nation and the leader of the ruling APC.
The minister said Buhari spoke as the president of the country when he said he would not favour any candidate at the election, which was misunderstood by people.
He said at the appropriate rostrum when Buhari led the Presidential campaign train in Lafia, Nasarawa State, the president raised Tinubu’s hand up and declare him his successor.
“What will Buhari and the party benefit in not supporting Tinubu to become president?
“It will be suicidal for anybody in the government not to support Tinubu because if any other party wins, it will be a hostile takeover.
“If Tinubu does not become the president, the greatest loss will be for APC, therefore, it is not in our interest to put stumbling block in his winning the polls,’’ he said.
Mohammed said the pains of the aftermath of the Naira redesign would be short-lived and it was not a deliberate policy by the government to create hurdles for his successor.
The minister also said the APC and Tinubu were the direct beneficiaries of the Scorecard Series organised by his ministry to showcase the achievements of the Buhari administration.
He said the platform, which had hosted 26 minister’s was used to counter the narratives by the opposition in the APC and Tinubu had nothing to campaign with. (NAN)
