A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor has said that the party might lose the 2019 election unless concrete steps were taken to address the concerns of party leaders and other related issues ahead of the polls.
The governor, who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation, said that the failure to address the issues was drawing back the party’s campaign.
He said that there is deep division within PDP ranks six weeks to the election and “time is running out” to provide solutions.
The governor said that many PDP governors and other bigwigs had contacted him recently to voice their concerns over the party’s preparation ahead of the 2019 presidential polls.
“All is not going well with our campaign and the commitment of many top party leaders to the campaign is suspect,” the governor said in an exclusive interview with Premium Times.
He added, “It seems as if we (including Atiku) have conceded the election to Buhari even though the Nigerian people are behind us. The momentum has fallen, the possibility of victory is getting slimmer every day.”
The governor disclosed that part of the grouse against the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was that he failed to consult PDP governors in appointing his running mate and head of his campaign organisation.
He listed state governors Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe, Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto; as well as former governors Ahmed Makarfi, Sule Lamido, and Rabiu Kwankwaso as some of the aggrieved individuals.
The governor said, “He (Atiku) did not consult anybody before appointing Obi (former Anambra State governor, Peter).
“They (party leaders) are saying we should have sat down to do a proper calculation on where the running mate should come from, whether from the South-west or the South-east.
“The thinking among many leaders is that the running mate should have come from the South-west because you have from there people like Tinubu (former Lagos State governor, Bola, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who is politically-savvy and (Vice President Yemi) Osinbajo who has integrity and credibility.
“Why will the people of the South-west abandon Tinubu and Osinbajo to vote PDP and Atiku?”
“People believe that we should have instead given the South-west the vice presidency and make a commitment to hand over power to the South-east after an Atiku presidency.”
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