The All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council on Friday, January 6, 2023, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari would attend just 10 state rallies of the ruling party’s presidential standard bearer for the 2023 election, Bola Tinubu.
In a swift reaction, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the President’s decision to join Tinubu’s campaign in just 10 states is not surprising and a confirmation that Buhari had been foot-dragging in campaigning alongside Tinubu “who has brought them more grief than glory.”
On the same day, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, hailed Oyo residents who chanted his name at the campaign flag-off of Governor Seyi Makinde last Thursday in Ibadan, saying: “Oyo State, I heard you loud and clear yesterday. I take it warmly as a vote of confidence in me and our great party, PDP.”
The spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, in a statement yesterday listed the states where the president is expected to join the campaign train as Lagos, Adamawa, Cross River, Katsina, Imo, Yobe, Kwara, Sokoto, Ogun, and Nasarawa.
He said: “The states are Adamawa State on the 9th of January; Yobe State on the 10th of January; Sokoto State on the 16th of January; Kwara State on the 17th of January; Ogun State on the 25th of January; Cross River State on the 30th of January; Nasarawa State on the 4th of February; Katsina State on the 6th of February; Imo State on the 14th of February and the grand finale in Lagos State on the 18th of February.
“The PCC expresses its profound gratitude to President Buhari, the leader of our great Party, for his sterling and inspirational leadership at this time and for galvanising our teeming members and supporters across the country.
“We urge our party faithfuls and supporters to turn out en masse, as usual, in the forthcoming campaign rallies. The zero hour is nigh; our spirits must be high; we must not relent in this our collective march to our victory that is divinely ordained.”
Keyamo reiterated that the president was in attendance when Tinubu kicked off his campaign with a rally in Jos, Plateau State, in November 2022.
The president had recently said he was committed to the campaign of the APC standard bearer and all members of the party vying for elective positions.
But the opposition PDP said the President’s decision to join Tinubu’s campaign in just 10 states is a confirmation that Buhari had been foot-dragging in campaigning alongside Tinubu “who has brought them more grief than glory.”
The PDP in a statement by its Director of Media, Bashorun Dele Momodu added it was obvious that President Buhari and many senior APC chieftains are palpably embarrassed about the quality of their Presidential campaigns which has been extremely lackluster.
“Their candidate has failed miserably to even sell his own manifesto. It has been one gaffe after the other. To President Buhari’s credit, he was able to put up a robust defense when he was accused of some shortcomings in the past.
“In Tinubu’s case, his team has resorted only to bullying opposition and the media without offering responsible explanations to very serious accusations and allegations. The social media is awash with incredibly embarrassing jokes and comedy skits about a once ebullient and well-respected South West political icon.
“It is therefore not surprising that President Buhari has been foot-dragging in campaigning alongside a candidate who has brought them more grief than glory. Just imagine that the President uttered no word when he handed the party flag to Chief Bola Tinubu.
“That was the first disturbing sign that all is not well in the APC House of Commotion. Not even Asiwaju’s ally and former Attorney General of Lagos State, Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has been seen standing next to him to defend his policies and personal character and attributes. Only a few rabble-rousers and political jobbers are left to goad him on. This is the most unusual Presidential campaign I have ever witnessed.”
Source: ThisDay
