Ahead of the 2023 poll, a chieftain of the ruling All progressive congress (APC), Dr Musa Babayo has faulted the notions held in certain quarters that the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu plagiarized the Hope 93 manifesto of late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
Babayo who is the Director of the Planning, Research and Strategy Directorate of the Tinibu/Shettima campaign organisation argued that those behind such talks were doing so to score cheap political gains.
Babayo who spoke during the inauguration of the directorate in Abuja explained that, unlike Abiola’s Hope 93 manifesto which has been overtaken by events, Tinubu’s manifesto seeks to address contemporary challenges in the country.
Said he: “You know politicians have a way of distracting their audience from the message. Management is management. I am a professional manager and I know the basic principle of management are planning, coordination and control.
“It would continue to be in existence till the end of time. Nobody is going to reinvent the wheel. Issues keep on changing. This manifesto is not copy and paste. The manifesto is a brand new document that has incorporated some of the monumental challenges of the Nigerian state.
“There was no security challenge that was highlighted in the Hope 93 manifesto. There was no issue of the Maradi-Kano rail line in the 1993 hope manifesto. Nigeria of 1993 is different from Nigeria of today. Soon this administration would open the second Niger bridge.
“There was nothing like that in 1993. This is factual. So I want to dismiss in its entirety the comment made by the spokesperson of the other campaign organisation. They have the right to talk because we are already ahead in the competition.
“And when you are ahead of a competition, you should respect those behind you to try as much as possible to shrink your own share of the market share.”
Expressing optimism that Tinubu would emerge victorious at the 2023 poll, he maintained that the 2023 poll remains the most significant poll in the history of the country.
He added: “It is the most important election in this country for many reasons. This is a period in the world when the global economy is going through a drastic change. No nation in the world is isolated and isolated from the global phenomenon of economy, climate change and most importantly bringing the country together.
“This is a ticket that has been misconstrued, this is a ticket that would make the nation better than what it is today. This is a ticket that would end the political identity politics.”