Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West geopolitical zone and candidates of the party for the Senate and the House of Representatives in the region, on Saturday, converged on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to strategise over the victory of the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
At the gathering tagged Atiku/Obi 2019 Campaign South-West Summit, a former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, maintained that Nigerians have become more determined to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) despite various efforts allegedly made by the party to compromise the electoral process and to buy votes through the Tradermoni scheme, which he described as the looting and re-looting of Abacha loot.
This was as he reiterated that the PDP had no confidence in INEC, stating that the 2019 elections had become a moral burden for the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari.
Fayose said though nothing good could be expected from INEC under APC leadership, Atiku and other candidates of the party were poised to win in the elections, because Nigerians were determined to vote out the APC.
“You said the APC is controlling the South-West, you are right; they are, either by rigging or manipulations. But do not forget that PDP used to control the South-West before the table turned. In 2015, President Buhari helped so many people to win elections as senators and members of the House of Representatives. Today, if you put Buhari’s picture in your poster, may God help you. Most of them cannot put Buhari’s picture on their posters. The reality is that Buhari was not tried in 2015; but today, he has been tried and it is clear that he has no capacity,” Fayose said.
He pointed out how the PDP would retake the South-West region, noting that Buhari has lost the goodwill on which he rode to power in 2015.
The summit had in attendance House of Representatives and senatorial candidates of the PDP in the six South-West states; the National Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Eddy Olafeso; Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abiodun Olujinmi; Dr Alex Obiogbolu, a representative of the PDP vice-presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, as well as the Oyo State governorship candidate, Mr Seyi Makinde.
The former governor explained that despite the vote buying ploy known as Tradermoni, the 2019 elections would be won by the PDP, as according to him, Buhari has lost the goodwill he enjoyed in 2015, which gave other APC candidates opportunity to win elections back then.
He pointed out how the APC, despite the alleged heavy monetisation of the governorship poll in Osun, lost the election and had to resort to back-door means to declare the party winner with 400 votes in a state where it won with over 100,000 margin four years earlier.
Also speaking at the summit, Olafeso said the APC had no agenda for campaigning, but “is only out to rig elections,” while Makinde noted that the party was up against people bent on rigging elections, saying: “APC is bent on not allowing the wish of the people to prevail. So we have to devise counter-measures to nullify what they are trying to do.” (Nigerian Tribune)