- Says Tinubu’s refusal to marketing campaign nationwide is smug, insult to Nigerians
- Accuses Kwankwaso of doing president’s bidding, describes name for former VP to step down as reckless
Chuks Okocha
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has declared that its presidential candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, is match and prepared to marketing campaign throughout Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory forward of the 2027 normal election.
The council additionally criticised President Bola Tinubu over his resolution not to marketing campaign in all states, describing it as an act of conceitedness and an insult to Nigerians, whereas accusing former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of advancing the president’s political pursuits by calling on Atiku to step down for Peter Obi.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a press release, was quoted to have made the remarks whereas receiving a delegation of youths beneath the aegis of Young Voters for Atiku (YVA) and in a separate response to Kwankwaso’s interview on Channels Television.
Ologbondiyan argued {that a} president looking for re-election needs to be keen to have interaction voters straight, account for his stewardship and current his plans for the nation. He mentioned Tinubu’s reported reluctance to marketing campaign nationwide would give the opposition a bonus.
“What President Tinubu has done is a clear act of contempt against the Nigerian people. The APC is known for its contempt for Nigerians. How can a man who wants to be re-elected as president, after failing woefully, say he does not want to visit the people he seeks to govern?” he mentioned.
The ADC-PCC spokesman dismissed the argument that official engagements might stop Tinubu from campaigning throughout the nation, citing former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, (*36*) Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, in addition to former United States President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Kamala Harris, as examples of political leaders who campaigned whereas holding or looking for public workplace.
He alleged that Tinubu was reluctant to face voters due to public dissatisfaction over starvation, poverty, insecurity and the state of the economic system.
Ologbondiyan maintained that Atiku was bodily match, mentally alert and ready to go to each state and the FCT to current his manifesto and search the citizens’s mandate.
He urged Nigerians, significantly younger voters, to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, arguing that one other time period for the ruling celebration would extend the hardship residents have been experiencing.
He additionally expressed confidence that Atiku, if elected, would prioritise financial restoration, wealth creation, nationwide safety and improved residing requirements.
The ADC-PCC additional criticised Kwankwaso for urging Atiku to step down for Obi, describing the decision as reckless, self-serving and an try to weaken the opposition forward of the 2027 election.
Ologbondiyan questioned why Kwankwaso was specializing in opposition leaders moderately than difficult Tinubu’s administration, which the council mentioned Nigerians have been keen to vote out.
“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” he mentioned.
He alleged that Kwankwaso’s place raised questions on his political intentions, suggesting that his actions may benefit the ruling APC by creating divisions amongst opposition events.
“What Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President Tinubu’s interests. It is a familiar APC strategy to use willing collaborators within the opposition to create confusion, sow division and weaken the collective efforts to bring about political change,” Ologbondiyan mentioned.
He additionally argued that Kwankwaso’s political affect in Kano shouldn’t be thought of indispensable to any presidential candidate looking for victory within the state. Citing the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, he mentioned former President Muhammadu Buhari had secured victories in Kano with out Kwankwaso’s help, including that Atiku might additionally win the state in 2027.
Ologbondiyan additional questioned Kwankwaso’s potential to translate his regional affect into nationwide electoral help, citing his fourth-place end within the 2023 presidential election.
He additionally alleged that Kwankwaso’s name for Obi’s candidacy was pushed partly by private political ambition and attainable calculations forward of the 2031 election.
The ADC-PCC director maintained that Atiku had constructed political relationships throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones over greater than three many years, which he mentioned positioned the previous vice-president to assemble a broad nationwide coalition.
He urged Kwankwaso and different opposition figures to help Atiku, arguing that opposition leaders ought to prioritise defeating the APC moderately than undermining each other.
“The task before opposition leaders is not to undermine one another for personal political advantage but to unite around the urgent national mission of rescuing Nigeria,” Ologbondiyan mentioned.
The council additionally claimed that it had been politically strengthened by the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, saying the occasion had not attracted endorsements from ADC members or sympathisers.
