Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, says the president has been fair to the south-east region despite low support from it in the 2015 and 2019 general elections.
Mr Adesina stated this on Friday in a column entitled, ‘Buhari & S’East: Arthur Eze Nails It’ which was published on his website.
The presidential aide began by praising businessman, Arthur Eze, who said recently that President Buhari had “demonstrated uncommon goodwill towards the people of the South East geopolitical zone, and should now rest assured of our unalloyed support and loyalty.”
Adesina wrote: “It is disingenuous for anyone to claim that President Buhari does not like any part of the country, most especially the South East.
“When the former Major General joined the political fray in 2002, and contested for President in 2003, who was his running mate? Former Senate President, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, a true Igbo son.
“In 2007, who ran with Buhari? Another true Igbo son, and former Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke.
“And when former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme fell deathly ill, President Buhari arranged his evacuation abroad by air ambulance. When he eventually passed on, he was given a most befitting national burial. Do you do that for a people you don’t like? Hardly.”
He added: “We were in Washington, USA, on an official visit. And the President met with Nigerians based in that country. A question came on how he would fill political positions, since he got less than 5% votes in some parts of the country.
“The President said in politics, it made sense to reward those who voted for you, more than those who didn’t. If you got 95% votes in some areas, and 5% votes in others, it stood to reason that those who voted more should get more positions. Then he added: ‘But the Nigerian Constitution forbids any leader from doing such, and I will do as the Constitution prescribes.’”
He also berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for not building a second bridge across River Niger during its 16 years in power.
The project, he said, is top on Buhari’s list of infrastructural developments in the region.
