National Coordinator of the Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council for People With Disability, Senator Hayatu Bello Gwarzo, has said that the presidential candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, were banking on their regions only to win the forthcoming 2023 presidential election.
He said unlike the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, Obi and Tinubu do not have the national spread to win the February 25 election.
Speaking at the North-Central Town Hall meeting of the People Living With Disability (PLWD) on Saturday in Abuja, Gwarzo said Atiku will win the February 25 election by a landslide margin, declaring that the PDP candidate has 80 per cent chance of winning the election.
The former federal lawmaker, who noted that only Atiku involved People Living With Disability in his campaign team, added that the former vice president has promised to give five per cent slots in his government to disabled persons.
Speaking at the Town Hall meeting in Abuja that was filled to its capacity, Gwarzo said, “Sincerely speaking, we believe he has the solution to the problem Nigeria is facing. So, on the chances of Atiku Abubakar, if I can put it on percentage, I will put it at 75 to 80 per cent, God’s willing.
“If you take the APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu and the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, they don’t have the national spread, most of them are banking on their regions, so regional politics has gone forever. It was during Sardauna and Awolowo era that we had regional politics.
“You have to go nationally, so, Atiku is accepted nationwide in each and every political zone, you can see this type of gathering that received him everywhere he goes. He has gone to the 35 states and the FCT, today he is in Adamawa, we are working day and right for the success of the PDP.”
He further said: “By registration of clusters, we have over 32 million people living with disability, so with that population they never cared to invite us to join any of their project, only Atiku invited us, that we should join him and join hands to save Nigeria.
“Sincerly speaking that is why you see us here going up and down. We didn’t talk to him that we want to join him, he invited us to work with him. We sat several times with him until a time he said he is going to form an independent campaign council for persons with disability, he celebrated the World Day for people with disability and that was the day he inaugurated this council.
“I cannot say that the whole 32 million people with disability are behind Atiku 100% but substantial number are with Atiku and it involves every cluster. Those with physical disability, the blind, deafs, albinos, dwarfs, among others.
“So we are very much comfortable that he will have a winning figure. Atiku made a promise that he will carry us along in his government, in fact, he promised us 5% in his government, which is a lot. And is better to start than none and when we start as time goes on he may increase the number to 10% or even 15%.”
