Buhari happier than Tinubu over outcome of presidential election – Masari

Following the outcome of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections, Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari on Wednesday, met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura.

The meeting which lasted for about an hour was held behind closed doors.

It was meant to felicitate the president for producing a successor from within the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, as well as review preparations for the gubernatorial elections in Katsina State on March 11.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President-elect following the conclusion of the collation of results in Abuja.

Tinubu had defeated two major contenders in the keenly-contested presidential race, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, to clinch victory.

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Masari was accompanied on the visit to Buhari’s country home by his close aides and other government functionaries.

Asked how the President felt about the elections, Masari said: “He (Buhari) is more than delighted, first of all for APC to have won this presidential election and in a peaceful manner. Like I said in Katsina, we had the elections without loss of lives, without any violence recorded, so he is very pleased and happy about it and reports coming from across the nation that has been reaching him had indicated quite a successful election.

“And you know as President leaving office and getting a successor from his party, you don’t need to ask me if he was happy. The answer is positive and he is happier than the candidate because this is his election; it’s a verdict on the performance of his government, that is the reason people voted for the APC.”

Also asked how he was preparing for the governorship election in Katsina, he said: “We are getting ready to build on our successes; and also, our failures, to see those areas we need to address so that the gubernatorial election will be won by APC. You know that we delivered all three senatorial seats from Katsina State, we delivered nine members of the House of Representatives out of 15, so you can see that the whole of North West, we are contributing more to the National Assembly than any other state.”

Masari who is serving out his second term in office lost the state to the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the presidential elections.

Newspot recalls that following the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections in Katsina State, Governor Masari had announced the sack of the Commissioner for Works and Housing, Tasiu Dahiru Dadagoro and three other aides.

Though reasons for their sack were not disclosed, investigation showed that they were removed for engaging in anti-party activities during the just-concluded elections in the state.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mutari Lawal and made available to the media.

According to the statement: “In the move to make some strategic realignment and adjustment, His Excellency, the Governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari has approved the immediate termination of the appointment of the following.

“Hon Tasi’u Dahiru Dandagoro – Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport; Yusuf Barmo, Chairman, Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board; Fatima Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Sustainable Development Goals and Aminu Waziri, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.”