- Safiu Kehinde
Bashir Ahmad, former aide to late ex-President, Muhammadu Buhari, has affirmed his stance against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.
Ahmad vowed not to defend Amupitan despite his loyalty to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ex-presidential aide made this known in a post on his X handle on Saturday in reaction to an X user who called him out for reposting a post labelling Amupitan as President Bola Tinubu’s biggest liability.
“Eventually, Prof Joash Amupitan as INEC chairman will be the biggest liability to the current Tinubu administration, both locally and internationally. Coming days may unfold this reality.” The post shared Nigerian author, Adamu Garba, had read.
Commenting on the post, an X user with the handle @Updateboyx, accused Ahmad of endorsing the call for Amupitan’s removal with the repost.
“Hello @BashirAhmaad so you actually retweeted this post ? This is very interesting to see. Make nobody tell me say retweet no be endorsement sha. Everybody sabi watin dem dey do.” The comment read.
Reacting, Ahmad slammed the X user as he maintained that his loyalty to the APC does not imply defending the INEC Chairman.
“Wow. I honestly don’t understand why it is always Bashir Ahmad. So now there are certain tweets I must not retweet just for you to approve of my loyalty?
“That is madness, wallahi. If loyalty to you means blindly defending this INEC chairman, then count me out.” He wrote.
The ex-presidential aide held that he will always stand by what he considered right irrespective of criticism.
“I will not be part of that. So you are free to say whatever you want or push whatever agenda you like, but I will always stand by what I believe is right. Shi kenan!” He added.
Ahmad would further affirm his loyalty to the APC in a separate post on Sunday.
He highlighted his past contributions to the party in response to critics questioning his loyalty over his stance against Amupitan.
“I have been a registered member of the APC since 2014 and over the years, I have served in various capacities, including as a member of committees for the party’s National Convention and the Presidential Campaign Council.
“Since 2017, I have also voluntarily contributed as part of the party’s strategic media team. It is therefore quite surprising that some individuals, who never even identified with the party until after the 2023 general election, during which I served as deputy chairman of the Social Media and Special Operations Committee of the Presidential Campaign Council, would now question my loyalty to the APC. Hilarious!” He wrote.
Ahmad maintained that he joined the APC back in 2014 out of his personal conviction which he claimed to remain unchanged.
He pledged to work for President Bola Tinubu’s campaign while reiterating that his membership of the APC is not tied to an individual.
“When I joined the APC in 2014, no one persuaded me to do so. I joined the party out of my personal conviction, because I believed in the party’s ideals and direction.
“That conviction remains unchanged and it is the reason I have consistently given my best in every role I have been entrusted with.
“So I do not see or believe any individual has the power to alter that commitment. If my membership of the APC had been tied to any individual, I would have long left the party.
“I am a committed APC member and I will continue to support the party to the best of my ability. I will campaign for President Tinubu, Gov. Abba Yusuf and any leader I am convinced is genuinely working for the good of the people.” He added.