silent forces that played significant roles in the victory of General
Muhammadu Buhari of the APC at the just concluded presidential
elections.
Shettima said contrary to some claims that Buhari was elected by four
geopolitical zones without the southeast and the south-south, leaders
of the APC in the southeast stood very firm to stop the PDP from
coming out with outrageous votes from the southeast as the case in
2011.
The Governor said this while addressing supporters after his return
from Abuja where he went on Tuesday night to join other leaders of the
APC ahead of Buhari's declaration as President elect.
According to him, "Buhari's election was a pan-Nigerian movement. I
have heard some political analysts making some wrong conclusions that
the Igbos in the Southeast didn't contribute significantly to Buhari's
victory, but I think they are missing the point because there are two
key contributions to winning elections.
"One is to give votes and the other is to prevent opponent from
rigging and both have equal relevance.
"In the 2011 elections, the PDP got a combined figure of about 7
million votes in the southeast, some of these States recorded or so
they claimed, having almost 100 percent voter turn out.
"But in 2015, Igbos in the southeast, especially our leaders in the
APC stood very firm, some of them put their lives on the line,
resisted all kinds of humiliation and at the end, they prevented
another seven million votes from coming out.
"In Ebonyi the PDP got less than 300,000 votes, in Abia, the PDP got
less than 400,000, even in Enugu the PDP got about 600,000 votes, in
Imo also the PDP got less than 600,000 all these were against the big
numbers of 2011.
"We all saw what happened in Rivers, if that was repeated in the
southeast, it would have been a major source of concern for all
Nigerians but the Igbos did very well by resisting every step against
Buhari so they are heroes as far as I am concerned.
"This is also the case in some parts of the south-south. In Bayelsa,
the PDP could have recorded 600,000 or so votes but they got less than
400,000 because of the efforts of our men in Bayelsa who stood firm.
In Edo State, Buhari wasn't far from President Goodluck Jonathan in
terms of votes.
"And then, if one looks across religious divides, Buhari was voted by
all religious groups. He wouldn't have won Ondo if only Muslims voted
for him, he wouldn't have won Benue or get the required 25 percent in
Edo and Ekiti.
"All of these point to one thing that Buhari was voted by all
Nigerians and this is why he has promised to carry the entire country
along, he has pledged not to rule but to govern and this is the
principle of the APC.
"He is laying the foundation of the change Nigerians need and that
change is not about which party is in power, it is about the changes
in the security of lives and property, the changes in the living
standards of Nigerians" the Governor said.
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