A few weeks to the presidential election, former Lagos military administrator, Brigadier-General Muhammed Buba Marwa, has said that the combination of ex-head of state, Major General Mohammadu Buhari and Pastor Tunde Bakare is a masterstroke of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to clinch the president.

The retired General, who was chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the platform he aspired to rule the nation as a president in 2007 and who recently quit his job as Nigeria’s ambassador to South Africa, said that Nigerians would soon know the potency of the Buhari-Bakare team.

In this interview, Marwa explained the changes of CPC in the election as well as why he had to quit the PDP to actualise his dream of becoming governor of Adamawa State. He also spoke on the recent court judgment extending the tenure of five governors, including his home state governor, Murtala Nyako, over rerun elections.

Recently, a court ruled that governors, who got their mandate through rerun should be in office beyond May 29 this year.

How do you react to that?
My views are clear. I disagree with the judgment totally, but certainly not with the judge. We will appeal it. I have respect for the judiciary, but this kind of judgment must not be taking lying low; it just cannot stand.

If you say the tenure started from when a new oath of office is taken, what of the activities taken during the periods before the new oath, the commitment of the state, loans taken and all action taken by the governor? Are we to unwind it and pretend nothing has happened? The people would like to know. These are the issues our lawyers would take up. This week, our lawyers will take it up. We will appeal.

How can somebody spend three and half years committing the states into all manner of things, including debt, spending public fund, then you say he has to start afresh?
Some of us, the affected aspirants are talking and our lawyers are putting heads together. We are all moving in one direction and we may have to consolidate the appeal. All I want to say is that our supporters should remain calm, we have expended efforts; we can’t just allow it go like that. The people desire a change.

Why are you aspiring to be governor after taking a shot at the presidency?
Well, quite a lot of people will be wondering why I am contesting governorship after attempting to contest the presidency, more so, when I had occupied the position before, though in military capacity. I must confess that It was a hard decision to come back to contest a position I occupied 20 years ago. I wanted to contest presidency but for some reasons, I have to go for the governorship.

I want to offer my people real service, as I did as a military administrator of Borno and Lagos states. People are saying Marwa, come and serve your people at home. You have done it before, the terrain will not be strange to you. True, in Borno and Lagos, where I served before, the records are there; we provided amenities that people thought were not easy to come by. I tarred roads; we provided water and renovated public infrastructure. That has been my credential. These are the feats that I want to replicate in Adamawa State.

Though, Adamawa has its own challenges and no matter what those challenges are, they cannot compare to Lagos, where we delivered service. If I say free education, people will believe, because we did it before; it’s not a matter of whether he can. But have they done it before? I was the first military governor to pay WAEC fees for pupils, in 1990. We did 700 road networks in Lagos; 500 communities were linked with public water. All these, we can replicate.

What are your chances in Adamawa, as you would be running against an incumbent governor; that’s if governorship election holds this year?
You need to go to Adamawa to hear from the people themselves. My past records have been greatest weapon. In Adamawa, I can tell you (Murtala) Nyako has lost it already. There is a clear indication that power of incumbency, through rigging, won’t work. The people are wiser and they know that taking money won’t help. That is why they are looking for tenure elongation through other means other than people’s mandate.
We have monitoring units to ensure rigging doesn’t work. The president has promised that votes will count. We believe him, because he is a man of honour and all he has been doing have pointed to the fact that he is on the side of the people that votes must count. So I have bright chances in Adamawa.

Why did you leave PDP when you were appointed ambassador by a government controlled by the party?
I ran for the office of the president. When I ran for the president, it was on the platform of PDP. When I lost, I didn’t leave PDP. When I wanted to be governor, I ran for congress and delegates voted for me, three days after, the congress was cancelled. I consulted my people; those who asked me to come back from South Africa to run, over 300 of them, to ask them if I should go back; they said no. So, they took the decision that we should seek another platform. I have no enemy anywhere. I relate with even other parties and I shake hands with their candidates whenever I see them campaigning, but tell them I’m a better candidate.

We learnt you are close to President Goodluck Jonathan. How did he react to your resigning as ambassador?
I told President Jonathan that I was quitting the job, even before I left South Africa. He accepted my explanations. He was informed. There is no way I would have abandoned the ambassadorial job without first and foremost intimating him.

There were talk among opposition for an alliance against the PDP. Nothing came out of it. what happened?
We all wished the alliance between the CPC and others sailed through, but as you can see, it turned out not to work. As I said, we all wished it worked. But I am in full agreement with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari over his position. CPC is a national party, whatever the party does is to ensure they offer the people credible alternative by winning the election in April.

What is your view about Pastor Tunde Bakare’s choice as running mate to Buhari?
I am in total agreement with General Buhari over the decision to pick Pastor Bakare as his running mate. Many of you are wondering why, but wait and see. The combination is a master stroke; you will know when we get there.

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