BY ADEBAYO FOLORUNSHO-FRANCIS AND DIRISU YAKUBU
With barely two weeks to the presidential election, the candidates of the four major political parties have boasted respectively that they were confident of victory in the exercise.
The Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar; his counterpart in the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP and 14 others are participating in the election scheduled for February 25, 2023.
Speaking with one of correspondents, a spokesman for the PDP presidential campaign council, Charles Aniagwu, boasted that Atiku would win from the first ballot given the support exhibited by Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones in the course of the party’s campaigns.
When asked if Atiku was sure of winning without the support of the five aggrieved governors and members of the Integrity Group who are all senior party members, Aniagwu said as members of the PDP, all its governors were expected to drum up support for the Atiku/Okowa ticket in the interest of the party.
He said, “Our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, will win this election. The message of rescuing and rebuilding Nigeria has been well received everywhere we have been to. We are banking on the solidarity and support of Nigerians, not just those in the PDP but outside of it as well. Nigeria’s problems are enormous and we need these tested leaders on board to reposition this country on the part of peace and progress.
“A lot has been said about the Integrity Group doing this and that. For us, they are members of the PDP. We expect them to work for the party’s presidential candidate because it is the right thing to do. So far, none of them has declared support for another candidate. So, we are very hopeful that we will go into this election as one indivisible family.
“But this is not just about the G-5 governors. Atiku needs the support of all Nigerians not just to win the election but to govern the country. This is the message we are preaching. This is not about PDP, but about Nigeria as a whole.”
On whether the former vice president is still interfacing with the Wike-led group, Aniagwu who doubled as the Delta State Commissioner for Information, said, “His Excellency is open to talk with all Nigerians on how to make Nigeria great again.”
‘No single term’
Meanwhile, Mr Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku, has denied knowledge of the former vice-president being in any form of pressure to run for a single term in office. According to him, such talks were premature as the election had yet to hold.
He stated, “We are not aware. There is no deal with anyone and he is certainly not under any pressure. We can’t be talking about tenure when the election has not been held yet.”
The PDP also dismissed insinuations that Atiku was under pressure to run from for a single term in office.
In an interview with one of our correspondents, the deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said, “Atiku is not under pressure at all. The constitution does not restrict him and the PDP is not contemplating this.”
In the build-up to the 2019 elections, Atiku made a verbal commitment to run for a single term in office. Although he won the ticket of the party at the presidential primaries held in Port Harcourt, he lost the election to the incumbent President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
‘Obi on course’
In a related development, the spokesman for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, said Obi was arguably the first presidential candidate to finish his campaign in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in record time.
He said he remained upbeat that his principal would defeat both Atiku and Tinubu in the election.
He stated, “We are optimistic because we have been able to connect with the people. Where they are telling lies, we were able to debunk it. We have even gone further to reassure Nigerians that we have a collective solution to their problem.
“That is why we are different. Our target in the general elections is the youths which we see as our strength that would give us the leverage over other candidates.”
The probability of an Obi presidency remains a contentious issue. It has continued to raise a palpable air of doubt among his critics who are still not convinced that, aside from the South, he can pull through in the North.
When asked to clarify how Obi hopes to achieve the feat, Tanko claimed that it is not rocket science.
“The truth is that people don’t believe that we can easily win a state, but the fact still remains that we are so sure our candidate will coast home to victory. That is because we know if you are going to become the president of this country, you must win one of these major states – Lagos, Kano or Rivers.
“We have a strong belief that we will win Rivers State. It is the people we are dealing with. Nyesom Wike is just a governor. If he supports us, that would be fine. If he won’t, the people of Rivers will.”
He said the closure of universities and later the polytechnics and colleges of education was a positive development for the party because most students would go back to their domiciled area where they registered to vote.
On whether LP was under any form of pressure with two weeks to the election, the campaign spokesperson shook his head, saying there was nothing of sort.
He disclosed that only those who had plans to rig the election or induce the electorate would be under pressure.
He added, “We are looking forward to a credible, clean and clear election. We believe that Nigerians will come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice and this can only be done in a free and fair election.”
NNPP expresses confidence
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the NNPP Presidential Campaign Council, Ladipo Johnson, said the camp of Kwankwaso was bubbling and in high spirit because it was confident of victory.
While describing the candidate as a man of the people, Johnson said his track record would speak for him.
“The NNPP is finishing strong. For instance, we had our South-South rally in Edo State and our principal, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, and different leaders of the party will forthwith go to different places just to present our closing argument to the people of Nigeria,” he said.
PDP’s alleged blackmail
While disclosing that the candidate feels at home with his people, the NNPP PCC spokesman raised an alarm that there were some sinister moves from Atiku’s camp to blackmail his principal.
According to him, suspected PDP members have been going about the North with speculations that Kwankwaso had bought into the narrative of allowing Arewa present only one candidate.
He said, “We are facing some sort of blackmail, especially from the caucus of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. They have nothing left to do or say to the people, especially to the people of the North. The PDP has a team that is going round, who has probably been paid by him and who are trying to blackmail Senator Kwankwaso to say that the North should have one candidate.
“Kwankwaso is not a parochial or sectional person. He is somebody who has served this country in several capacities, has a track record and has shown that he has always been on the side of the masses. He is not contesting to rule one region but Nigeria as a country with a view to birth a new Nigeria.
“So we will not be blackmailed. We will tell Nigerians that Rabiu Kwankwaso did not meet with Atiku and stepping down for him or any other candidate. We will contest the election to the end because we believe we are finishing strong.
“He is not like others flying into cities in private jets to be received by some paid crowd who have been mobilised by their members. We heard they are now being paid N2,000 to N5,000 to appear at campaign grounds. Kwankwaso is doing it differently. He has gone by roads to many places, including rural areas morning and night. It was in one of these areas they told him the last presidential campaign they saw was that of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.”
Keyamo predicts landslide
The governing APC also boasted of victory in the election. The spokesman for Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, said the numbers were out there for everybody to see.
This is even as he expressed optimism that the former Lagos State governor would defeat the other candidates.
He added, “Talk is cheap. When the chips are down, action and results will replace empty boasts and talks. We are confident. Once you look at the numbers, you will know there is no cause for alarm. In fact, we are praying that the election should hold tomorrow. I can tell you that the results will end by noon and the winner will immediately be known.
“The truth of the matter is that when you take the baseline of 2015 and 2019 results, you will discover that the numbers are almost consistent. The factors that have come to change in 2023 are those ones that affected our opponents than us. There is no pathway to victory for any of them.
‘Govs, APC candidates’
According to him, 90 per cent of Nigerians already made up their mind on who they want to vote for. He said he believed governors and other candidates vying for elective offices on the party’s platform would not disappoint the party.
He added, “Is it not the same party? It is the same APC and same structure. When Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan were on the ballot, the voting pattern didn’t change. The South-South and South-East have always voted the PDP since 1999, irrespective of whoever is on the ballot. So why can’t we have consistency in our own?
“We have a political platform that has always been the ruling party. Its structures are still in place. We have people in place who are fighting for their lives and not only for Asiwaju. We have House of Reps, governorship and senatorial candidates who will be on the ballot on the same day.
“Those who won’t be there same day like the governors wouldn’t want the APC to lose so the momentum does not affect them. They are all campaigning for Asiwaju. What other factors would you seek again other than that?”
He said the G-5 PDP governors would reduce the vote that should accrue to the PDP, noting that the party was living in absolute denial.
He added, “Do they think governors are lame ducks that won’t fight for votes? The governors that have local government chairmen, councillors, commissioners, special advisers, aides and other structures in place to fight for every vote.”
Source: The Punch
