Nigerians have rejected any second time coming of President Muhammedu Buhari in an online poll conducted by Sunday Punch.
The poll with the title , “Will you vote for Buhari in 2019?” was conducted on The PUNCH website, www.punchng.com
It gauged the opinions of Nigerians using three options for participants.
Those who want to vote again for the President in 2019 answered by clicking ‘YES ’ while those with a contrary opinion clicked the ‘ NO’ button . The last option was for those who were indifferent to Buhari ’ s choice.
The poll went live on Thursday , 5 .48 pm .
As of 11 pm on Saturday , out of the 9 ,524 participants who took part in the poll, 58 per cent (5 ,519 respondents) said they would not vote for Buhari in 2019.
Up to 3, 588 people , amounting to 38 per cent, said ‘YES ’ to the poll while four per cent (417 votes) were indifferent to Buhari ’ s 2019 re-election bid.
The poll, which has been read over 10 , 000 times , confirmed that many Nigerians are not happy with the performance of the President.
Although, President Buhari is yet to declare his intentions to run again in 2019, there are strong indications that he will seek a second term.
Confirming the speculation that Buhari might seek a second term in office , the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, had last week said although the President had not made up his mind on the 2019 presidential election, he must seek re -election because he had “done well so far.”
Shittu stated this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after a meeting he had with Buhari at the Presidential Villa , Abuja.
Speaking specifically on whether the President will contest, Shittu said, “It goes without saying. I mean if you have a child who goes to primary school and he does well, he proceeds to secondary school and he does well, and you keep asking if he will be going to university . It goes without saying.
“By the grace of God , we, his ( Buhari ’s ) ardent supporters, who appreciate his worth on behalf of millions of Nigerians, would urge him to recontest. I know he has not made up his mind but I can say that some of us can assist him in making up his mind."
Several chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, have also expressed their support for the President’ s re-election.
Speculation was rift on Wednesday on the alleged reappointment of Minster of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi as the Director General of his 2019 election campaign but this haven't been officially confirmed.
Buhari himself, twice last year, hinted that he would seek re-election in 2019. He gave the hint in Cote d ’ Ivoire during a summit on counter -terrorism and also during his recent visit to Kano State.
On Saturday, many organisations , including the Arewa Youth Forum, comprising the northern youths ; the Campaign for Democracy; and the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria , kicked against President Muhammadu Buhari ’ s re-election bid.
The groups , in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, hinged their rejection of Buhari ’s second-term bid on the incessant killings in the country, particularly by Fulani herdsmen.
They said the clamour for a second term , amidst attacks by herdsmen and fuel scarcity in the country, was a demonstration of the insensitivity of the President and his aides to the plight of Nigerians.
It will be recalled that last week , a Catholic priest and Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministries, Enugu , Rev . Fr. Ejike Mbaka , warned President Buhari that Nigerians will ‘ change’ him in 2019 if he does not change his style of leadership.
The priest advised Buhari against seeking a second term, and warned that the President risks being ‘blown away shamefully’ by the wind of change, which he set off when he defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015
-Punch