‘Nobody can force buhari out of power not even on newspaper pages’ – Buhari’s ally, Lawal

A close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mohammed Lawal, who served as Deputy Director, Coordination/Implementation of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2015, has said it would be difficult to oust a sitting president on the pages of newspapers.

He also dismissed speculations that key people in the APC were planning to leave for the opposition.

According to him, “increasing criticism and gang up will not force President Buhari out of the contest in the event he decides to go for a second term.”

He said many people and groups were uncomfortable with President Buhari’s ‘pro-masses’ approach to governance, hence were deploying various tricks and sense of insecurity to undermine his popularity.

In an interview with DAILY TRUST, Lawal said: “We are in politics; we would tackle any opposition, any group or gang up, be it a coalition or third force or whatever.

“Now, who among the APC leaders enjoying the comfort of government either as an appointee or elected official could afford to go and fish in a deep, dark, torturous and murky waters of political uncertainty?”

“But I wish them good luck. It is just that we are not bragging and shouting the way they (opposition) are doing but the time would soon come. We don’t want to distract the government for now; we want the government to concentrate on doing what it has been elected to do but very soon we would devote our attention one hundred per cent to politicking,” he said.

Lawal also accused ex-President Obasanjo of attempting to sabotage the administration of President Buhari.

“What ex-President Obasanjo is doing is not the way to express patriotism; Obasanjo is just fuelling tension and causing a lot of apprehension.

“He is still feeling Buhari era is like late Yar’adua era or Goodluck Jonathan era that he planted. We would not fold our hands this time around. We would fight back strongly. If the Federal Government is so careful in speaking out, we the supporters of President Buhari would not sit down and look,” he said.