Buhari Can’t Command Any Electoral Value In 2019, PDP Replies Adesina

As the 2019 presidential poll draws near, the two major political parties in Nigeria have continued to hit at each other, giving a glimpse of what political campaigns in the general elections would look like.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, has claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari is already “scared” of his expected defeat at the presidential poll because he allegedly knows he hasn’t done well in office.

“If his government had not wrecked our economy; if his government had not damaged our national unity, resulting in the daily bloodletting in our country; if his administration had not betrayed the people and failed in delivering even the littlest of his campaign promises, President Buhari would not be afraid of any opponent ahead of elections,” the PDP said on Monday.

The main opposition party’s statement comes after Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, said that opposition parties in the country should just run away if Buhari should decide to seek re-election into office.

Adesina said the opposition parties have a slim chance of beating President Buhari if he decides to run in the 2019 election.

“If the president runs, other people should just run away because they don’t have the foggiest chance in hell to beat him,” he had said.

But reacting to the presidential aide’s claim, the PDP said “From Mr Adesina’s comment, it is clear that the President is fully aware that he has become grossly unpopular and cannot command any electoral value. Both the President and his party must, therefore, instruct themselves appropriately and completely bury the thought of staying in office beyond May 2019.

“We, therefore, advice the Presidency and the APC to jettison any plot to force its way using intimidation, coercion and manipulations as such would be firmly resisted by Nigerians.

“In the same vein, we charge the APC and the President to note that its resort to sponsoring fifth columnists on smear campaigns against our repositioned and reinvigorated party has become of no effect as our members and supporters in all the states and the six geo-political zones across the nation are now, more than ever before, firmly united under the new leadership of the party to vanquish the APC in the 2019 general elections.

The opposition party added that “the re-positioned PDP re-assures Nigerians of level playing ground and open political space in all processes leading to the selection of candidates at all levels to ensure that the nation gets the leadership it desires and ultimately return to the path of national unity and prosperity.”