APC Reacts To Power Outage At Bauchi Presidential Rally

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the power outage incident that brought its presidential campaign rally to an abrupt end in Bauchi State on Monday.

The rally was going on at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, when the power supply ceased thrice and the sound system went off and could not be restored.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who subsequently left the stadium without delivering any speech, waved to the crowd as he headed toward his vehicle.

The rally ended shortly after the President’s departure from the venue.

Reacting to the incident on Monday evening, the party’s Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, has said it would investigate the cause of the faulty sound system.

Speaking with The Punch, Ibrahim said it would be wrong to attribute the incident to sabotage, adding that the picture would become clearer at the end of the investigation.

The APC chieftain added that despite the incident, Ibrahim said the event was a huge success even as he ruled out a repeat of the rally.

He said: “I can’t confirm what truly happened. The engineer will be able to tell what really happened even though from the onset, when I saw wire microphones, I had a little reservation.

“Under normal circumstances, we should have used wireless microphones. I am not a technician so I can’t allude to anything. Investigations would reveal what truly happened.”

Narrating the incident, Ibrahim said, “There was a sound breach, the equipment failed, and the audio quality was bad, but that is not to say the scheduled appointment of Mr. President was abruptly interrupted.

‘’The President was called upon to come to the podium and as he was getting there; the chairman of the party was addressing the rally, then, the sound system went off.

“People couldn’t hear him but all the same, the chairman called on the public to vote for the APC and the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu climbed to the podium.’

‘’The President raised his hand and called on the people of Bauchi to massively vote for Tinubu and (retired) Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar as the governorship candidate and all APC candidates standing for elections.

“The President had another schedule for Lagos and so he left. He is a man who is punctual, who wants to keep to time and just because there was a sound breach does not mean he should delay his departure for Lagos.”