National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Barrister Felix Morka, has reacted to the number of presidential candidates in the forthcoming general elections from the southern part of the country.
The spokesperson of the ruling party said the array of candidates from the region do not in anyway threathen the capacity of the incumbent and All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to win massively in the southern region.
Findings by Nigerian Tribune revealed that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, his rivals in the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Redemption Party, Adewole Adebayo and Donald Duke are all from the southern part of the country like President Tinubu.
The Labour Party (LP) polarised into factions parades Prince Kennedy Ahanotu and Chibuzo Okereke as their candidates. The duo is from the South as well.
The erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has Sandy’s Onor as candidate of the faction supported by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Tanimu Turaki faction which has no claim to INEC access code to upload its list of candidates, has continue to claim that former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan is its candidate.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), which has former vice president, Atiku Abubakar as its candidate is embroiled in litigation with another faction of the party led by Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Morka, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that none of the presidential candidates from the southern part of the country poses any threat to his party’s candidate, submitting that the fear of splintered votes in the region is misplaced.
He said:” How can you dissipate what you don’t have any foothold to challenge? I wish them a lot of luck if that’s their game plan. You know, I can only just wish them luck. But I know that luck will not manifest because elections are not about luck. It’s about record. It’s about achievement. It’s about capacity. It’s about the assessment of the electorate regarding your ability to govern and to deliver.
“None of the people pose a threat to president Tinubu or the APC in the upcoming election. Because, like I said, you can’t bring emptiness to challenge solid record. You can’t bring empty words to challenge a president who is laying down unprecedented achievements for the growth and development of this country.
“Who among these presidential aspirants, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Seyi Makinde or Donald Duke, has managed to articulate any kind of vision for the development of this country or to articulate any policy framework that can even begin to mimic, let alone challenge the massive undertaking of this President under the Renewed Hope agenda?
“Peter Obi granted an interview recently where he was asked about electricity, and his only answer was, trust me. Trust me is not a statement of vision. Trust me is not a political manifesto. Trust me is not a programme of even any kind of programme of aspiration. Trust me, does not cut it. So if all Peter Obi could offer Nigerians is to tell Nigerians, trust me, because I’m Peter Obi, I will do better than this President!
Every election that has been conducted in this country, whether they are off-cycle elections, whether they are by elections conducted in this country, everywhere in this country, the APC has won decisively. That’s not an accident. That is referendum by Nigerians that they do not see an alternative to the APC in these elections. And so these individuals stay online, have their mob simply attack and just condemn everything the government is doing.”
The APC National Publicity Secretary further declared that that the Obi- Kwankwaso ticket of the NDC being perceived in certain quarters as a North/ South alliance is also dead on arrival as he dismissed it as a union between two desperate politicians with no mass appeal.
“What is the South and North alliance in Peter Obi and Kwankwaso? There is no such thing. They are two individuals, yes, one is from the South, one is from the North. They are two individuals. In APC, if you’re going to take that approach, in APC, we have probably the strongest coalition because we have leaders and members of the Party, millions of them across this country, from every nook and crannies of Nigeria,” Morka added.
