· Buhari, Tinubu fail to address supporters over malfunctioned audio system
· Disappointed party supporters left stadium in anger
It was a situation mixed with drama and confusion at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa venue of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally on Monday in Bauchi, when the thousands of the party’s supporters who gathered from the various North-East states were left disappointed without any speech from both President Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, following the inability of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and organizers of the rally to assemble a functional public address system for the event.
Thousands of supporters of the APC angrily left the venue of the rally disappointed, leaving the venue abruptly, after the address of the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress, Governor Simon Lalong.
Confusion started when President Muhammadu Buhari and the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as well as the National Chairman of the APC mounted the podium to speak, but could not as the sound system went off.
The drama ensued as all efforts to restore the sound proved abortive, leaving the President Buhari and Tinubu with no other option than to join the angry fans to leave the stadium as could no longer address the disappointed crowd who were already on their way out.
The President and the APC National chairman, Senator Adamu Abdulahi, who had waited in vain for a some minutes for the sound to be restored, could only present the party’s flag to the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in Bauchi State, Amb Saddique Baba Abubakar before filing out to board their already waiting convoy.
President Buhari, who had arrived Bauchi to lead the APC presidential and governorship campaign rally was received at the airport by the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who is the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, as well as his APC opponent in the March 11 governorship election, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Others at the airport to receive the President were the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau; Andy Ubah, Governors of Borno, Kebbi and Yobe states, Babagana Zulum, Abubakar Bagudu and Mai Mala Buni, respectively.