A Governor under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned that the party may lose the 2019 Presidential election due to some issues affecting leaders of the party. The Governor said that if not addressed soon it might draw back the PDP from winning.
The Governor said that there is frustration in among some camps in the PDP and the party has little time to resolve all the crisis. The Governor did not want his name to be revealed so as not to have problems with the party.
The Governor as said that many leaders have contacted him across the country to show their grievance.
He said: “All is not going well with our campaign and the commitment of many top party leaders to the campaign is suspect.
“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.
“Party leaders were aggrieved by alleged lack of consultation by the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, before making key appointments of his running mate and head of the campaign organisation.’’
He mentioned, 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 those who are not satisfied with the appointment done by Atiku.
He continued: “He (Atiku) did not consult anybody before appointing Obi who is a former Anambra State governor as his vice.
“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.”
“(Deputy Senate President, Ike) Ekweremadu and many South-east leaders including the governors; their commitment is not total. Obi is considered an APGA person who only defected to the PDP during the (former President Goodluck) Jonathan era because he had nowhere else to go. In any case, what is his electoral worth in the South-East.”
“There is also Saraki (Senate President, Bukola) who like Atiku is a recent returnee to the party. He was appointed the head of the campaign.
“Real leaders who have been committed to the PDP, people who did not leave the party during rain or shine, they have been sidelined by the newcomers. Why were leaders like Lamido and Makarfi not given central roles in the campaign?”
“The campaign has a faulty structure. Saraki has a lot of baggage. As a sitting Senate President, he cannot oppose the president vigorously as a leader of another arm of the same government. He also still has a lot to do running that arm of government.
“To worsen the matter, in a zone (South-west) where you have leaders like Bode George, you appointed (former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele) Fayose as campaign coordinator.
“What can Fayose do against people like Tinubu and Osinbajo? Who can Fayose talk to in the zone? Who will he coordinate? The campaign in the South-west is structured to fail.”
“The situation in Kano, where a lot of votes will come from, is going from bad to worse. Although Kwankwaso is the coordinator (for the North-west), he does not appear to be too keen due to lack of consultation. His supporters have started returning to the APC, including the former deputy governor. Nothing is happening in that state now.”
“Atiku’s love for Dubai is giving the impression that his only interest in Nigeria is the election. Why the frequent trips to Dubai, a place seen as where people go to hide loots? The frequent trips to Dubai are a big minus.
“After dropping the Obi bombshell (the announcement of his running mate), he left for Dubai for six weeks, not making use of the huge momentum gained in Port Harcourt (the PDP National Convention where Mr Abubakar won his nomination).
“A group of leaders was to meet him before Christmas only for them to learn that he had travelled to Dubai for holiday. Why go to Dubai to hold meetings about an election that will happen in Nigeria?”
“There is no investment in a developing a strategy. The messaging is incoherent. What are the central messages we are pushing to Nigerians?
“We are just making comments like ‘I will sell the NNPC’ (the government cash-cow Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which Mr Abubakar has promised to privatise) and throwing around unsubstantiated allegations. A matter of such great concern should have been handled better.”
“Some people are speaking on behalf of Atiku personally, others are speaking from the campaign office, some are speaking from PDP headquarters while there are those speaking from the Atiku Media Office. And what they are saying is sometimes contradictory to each other’s.”
He added: “If we do so, the possibility of turning things around is still there,” he said, but again quickly stressed, “time is fast running out.”
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