In what appeared to be a reprisal probably to make up of for the loss of five governors, popularly known as the G-5, presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is currently in talks with five governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Disclosing the development to LEADERSHIP Friday yesterday, the Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign organisation said the APC governors who are friends with Atiku have been consulting with the former vice president on how to support him.
According to the PDP campaign team, the five APC governors are willing to jump ship because they believe Atiku has a more believable manifesto and better experience to manage Nigeria.
One of the spokesmen of the PDP campaign team and former national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, who gave the hint, told our correspondent that the move is ongoing just as the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, believes he can attempt to leverage on the situation within the PDP where five governors have distanced themselves from the party’s presidential campaign activities unless the PDP national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu resigns, resigns and is replaced by a southerner.
But in a swift reaction, the APC dismissed the claim by the opposition party, describing it as wishful thinking that indicates the opposition party in the country lacks plans and clear-cut strategy for the forthcoming general election.
LEADERSHIP Friday recalls that five PDP governors, namely Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo) had repeatedly declared they won’t support Atiku’s campaign.
So far, some of the G-5 governors seem to be tilting towards the APC, with Wike recently endorsing the APC governorship candidate in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
While the Rivers governor went further to donate money to APC women group in Lagos, his Oyo counterpart, Makinde, through his deputy, openly declared support for Tinubu’s presidential ambition when the APC presidential candidate met with Afenifere leaders in Pa Reuben Fasoranti’s residence in Akure, Ondo State.
Ologbondiyan however told this paper that talks with the Wike group is still ongoing, even as he revealed that APC governors are in talks with Atiku ahead of the 2023 polls.
He said, “As we speak there are no less than five governors of the APC, who are friends with our candidate, and who have been talking to our candidate with regards to the 2023 presidential election.
“They (APC governors) are convinced about Atiku’s relevant experience, not just any kind of experience as being bandied about by other candidates. They are also convinced about Atiku’s manifesto. They have looked at his manifesto and they are convinced about its believability and the capacity of Atiku to realise them.”
When asked to reveal the identities of the governors, Ologbondiyan noted that at the appropriate time, they will be revealed.
“At the right time Nigerians will know them. We don’t want to mention their names now. But I assure you at the appropriate time, Nigerians will see them.”
On the regions the governors are from, Ologbondiyan who refused to give specific details, added: “They are spread across the regions. Like I said at the appropriate time, Nigerians will know them.”
Your Wishful Thinking, Lack Of Plans – APC
But in a swift reaction, the APC described PDP’s claims as wishful thinking, saying it is a clear indication that the opposition party in the country lacks plans and clear-cut strategy for the forthcoming general election.
National publicity secretary of the governing party, Barr Felix Morka, told LEADERSHIP Friday that due to lack of agenda, the PDP had been grabbing on straws by springing up series of falsehood, from the law suit it filed recently against the APC to the current claim that five progressive governor are consulting to support Atiku for the 2023 presidential poll.
Morka said, “That’s wishful thinking; you can see clearly that they don’t have any plans for the next elections. They have no plans, they have no strategy. The other day they filed a law suit and now they are talking about five APC governors.
“So, clearly that is not an agenda for an election and it does not show a party that is serious about competing for power. They are just grabbing on straws, hoping that they can grab something that has a route but it’s just completely wishful. It’s not worth any reaction”.
Reiterating his earlier stance that the PDP is embarking on a voyage of “phantom and vain expedition” with the legal action and now claims of APC governor’s romancing Atiku, the APC spokesman restated his earlier stance that PDP is trapped in the abyss of internal contradictions
“Again, that’s the PDP setting itself on a phantom and vain expedition. It is obvious the PDP is rightly convinced of its failed 2023 engagement. Trapped in the abyss of its internal contradictions and intractable crisis, the PDP has resorted to grabbing straws and scratching the sand in hope of success.
“It betrays the extreme desperation and utter lack of competitive confidence to face 2023. To be clear, there shall be no political manna falling from the sky for the PDP. They should wake up from their inebriated slumber and smell the political coffee,” Morka reiterated.
Politics Of Religion Will Burn Down Nigeria, Wike Warns
Meanwhile, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has urged personnel of the various security agencies to stop taking sides with politicians who use all tactics, including religion to frustrate efforts at protecting life and property.
He insisted that Nigerian politicians must also stop the politics of religion in order not to burn the country down in the wake of campaigns towards the 2023 general elections.
Wike spoke yesterday when he hosted the new Rivers State commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, who led a team of senior police officers on a courtesy visit to the Government House in Port Harcourt.
The governor said, “We believe we owe this country and we must also stop this politics of religion so that we don’t instigate crisis and violence. You must go and tell the people what you can do, what we can offer.”
Wike maintained that his administration has remained committed to the protection of life and property of all residents in the State.
He said, “This is because of its belief that the people for which any development projects are provided must feel safe and alive to use them.”
The governor noted that any government that is unable to do so has failed in its responsibility and has no business being in governance.
He continued: “For me, there cannot be any good governance without the protection of life and property. Nobody can talk about good governance when there is insecurity everywhere. If you cannot protect your citizens, you have no need to talk about governance.
“Because if you’re doing roads, people must be alive to use the road. If you’re building good school, people must be alive to go to school.
“So, it is key that you owe your citizens protection of their lives and property. And so, for us as a government, that is the sole aim of being in government.”
He assured that since the security agencies are the institutions saddled with such duties, his administration has always and will continue to provide requisite support to them so that they can discharge their security operations effectively.
Wike expressed the hope that the new Commissioner of Police will bring his vast experience in operations and crime fighting to bear in Rivers State.
Acknowledging the effort of the Inspector General of Police, Woke hinted that the state government will build a befitting police station along Ada George Road in Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, Effiong, the 43rd Commissioner of Police to Rivers State said he would operate a policy of zero tolerance to crime and criminality.
Tinubu’s Manifesto Not Copy And Paste, Campaign Council Insists
Meanwhile, the APC presidential campaign council has again dispelled claims in certain quarters that the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, plagiarized the Hope 93 manifesto of the late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
The director of Planning, Research and Strategy of the Directorate of Tinibu/Shettima campaign organisation, Dr Musa Babayo, insisted that Tinubu’s hope renewal manifesto is unique and not copy and paste as claimed by the opposition.
Speaking during the inauguration of the directorate in Abuja, Babayo noted that those peddling allegation of plagiarism were doing so to score cheap political gains.
According to him, unlike Abiola’s Hope 93 manifesto which has since been overtaken by events, Tinubu’s manifesto seeks to address contemporary challenges bedeviling Nigeria.
The director stated: “You know politicians have a way of distracting their audience from the message. Management is management. I am a professional manager and I know the basic principles of management are planning, coordination and control.
“It would continue to be in existence till the end of time. Nobody is going to reinvent the wheel. Issues keep on changing. This manifesto is not copy and paste. The manifesto is a brand new document that has incorporated some of the monumental challenges of the Nigerian state.
“There was no security challenge that was highlighted in the Hope 93 manifesto. There was no issue of the Maradi-Kano rail line in the 1993 hope manifesto. Nigeria of 1993 is different from Nigeria of today. Soon this administration would open the second Niger bridge.
“There was nothing like that in 1993. This is factual. So I want to dismiss in its entirety the comment made by the spokesperson of the other campaign organisation. They have the right to talk because we are already ahead in the competition.
“And when you are ahead of a competition, you should respect those behind you to try as much as possible to shrink your own share of the market share.”
Babayo further noted that the 2023 poll would be the most significant poll in the history of the country, adding however that Tinubu would emerge victorious at the 2023 poll,
He continued: “It is the most important election in this country for many reasons. This is a period in the world when the global economy is going through a drastic change. No nation in the world is isolated and isolated from the global phenomenon of economy, climate change and most importantly bringing the country together.
“This is a ticket that has been misconstrued, this is a ticket that would make the nation better than what it is today. This is a ticket that would end the political identity politics.”
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