IBB Campaign Offices Ready In 32 States, Receives Report

ABUJA, August 04, (THEWILL) - As part of his preparation for a shot at the presidency, former military dictator, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has establish campaign offices in 32 of the 36 states in the country.

He has also appealed to his supporters nationwide to abide by the rules of democracy and not to do anything to upset the good agenda of the government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the coming 2011 general elections.

A coalition of his supporters operating under the aegis of IBB for 2011 disclosed this while submitting a report of the campaign team. The group said in their report that the Babangida Campaign group had succeeded in opening offices in 32 states of the federation in preparation to the kick-off of his campaign for the presidential election.

According to the 10-page report, all the offices spread across the six geo-political zones of the federation were donated by committed supporters of the Minna born soldier, some of which were personal properties such as extra offices, houses and warehouses located in strategic streets in each of the states.

The report also indicated that the remaining four states were yet to open offices for IBB owing to slight crisis arising from donation of offices for the campaign by supporters as it stressed that in such states more than three supporters of General Babangida were competing to have the offices they donated recognized, and were therefore going the extra miles to ensure just that.

Babangida while thanking members of the group for doing a thorough work said it was imperative for his supporters and Nigerians in general to keep to the rules of democracy in order to avoid bungling the chance of deepening democracy through the present attempt at transiting to the next phase of democracy.

Nigeria, he said, has come a long way in experimenting with democracy and hence should strive as a nation to entrench the culture rather than embarking on acts capable of subverting the system of government which according to him was the smoothest form of government the world over.

Babangida said his preparedness to play by the rules was the reason he was keeping his campaign strategies under wrap, stressing that there was nothing to be done when the PDP which he referred as a very vibrant, most experienced and robust party has not unfolded its agenda for the elections.

"We also need to follow the activities and programmes of the government most especially those of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closely since we are about entering into a new age where votes of every electorate will count, and when the government of the day has been taking conscious efforts to give Nigeria the most transparent elections in history.

"This is why I call on our supporters both in Nigeria and in the diaspora to be conscious of what they do, what they say and where to be and not to be, at every necessary period as we prepare for the elections to come.

"If anyone is seen to be breaking the rules, let it not be seen that any of our supporter is involved. If pejorative political statements are to be made, let it not be known that such is coming from any of our supporters and if the idea of political rabble-rousing is going to be on the table, let it not be traced to anything IBB or his supporters.

"However, I will not mind if we begin to hit the news as great facilitators of unassailable political ideas and ideologies meant to shape the future of our country and held democracy to grow. I will be glad if the best thesis, theories and sermons on how to change the face of this country will be coming from our camp from now till the date of election. That is how to help democracy grow in the country," the often discredited former military ruler said.

Babangida described himself as a consummate democrat given the inputs which he said he had made silently to the growth of democracy in Nigeria, recalling that since he bowed out of government he had not stopped educating himself about democracy which according to him is more complex than anyone had imagined.