A political lobby group based in the south east of Nigeria known as Committee of Friends G5 South East Zone, has concluded plans to deliver one million votes for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in Abia state.

Also, the group has vowed to sway the entire South East voters for the PDP during the presidential election.

Speaking at a media briefing at the end of its strategy meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, yesterday, the Coordinator of the group, Barr. Chinyere Chigbu who was the former Abia State PDP Vice Chairman, Abia Central Senatorial Zone, said that the Committee of Friends G5 South East Zone is determined to ensure that Atiku Abubakar wins not only Abia state but the entire South Eastern states.

He recalled that during the 2019 presidential election, the PDP scored 219, 698 votes in Abia state, which, according to him, was abysmal considering the over 1,932,892 eligible voters who could have voted to sway the election in favour of Atiku Abubakar.

Chigbu however, said that: "to this end, our sensitization and campaign drive will focus on the grassroots through village to village and ward to ward aggressive mobilization to ensure that Atiku Abubakar secures over 1.2 million votes in Abia state and over 85 per cent of the votes cast in the South East in 2023.

“We don’t see any threat to us achieving this target because the Presidential candidate of the PDP is the most experienced and most prepared to take the country out of its current woes.

“Among all the top presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar has the capacity, the network and the know-how to take the country to the next level and salvage Nigeria from total collapse.”

On the strategies to be adopted to ensure victory for Atiku Abubakar in Abia and the entire South East, he disclosed that: “The first phase shall essentially comprise a massive grassroot mobilization strategy to encourage registered voters to turn out in large numbers for collection of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while the second phase shall comprise of a comprehensive village to village and ward to ward campaign and mobilization networking for effective voter turn-out for Atiku’s election.

“In Abia, there are about 1,932,892 registered voters and only 1,729,943 out of this number have collected their PVCs, while 202,949 of the said PVCs remain uncollected. If this number is added to the 269,340 that completed the just concluded Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) as at August 31, 2022, the number of uncollected PVCs sums up to approximately 472,289.

“Our group will step up the mobilization drive across wards and villages to fish for all those who participated at the concluded CVR and ensure we provide seamless systems and incentives to encourage them to come out en masse for the collection of their PVCs starting October.”

Chigbu, therefore, called on residents of Abia state and the entire South East to forget primordial sentiments and vote for Atiku Abubakar who is detribalized and well prepared to unite and rescue the country from the current ugly situation it finds itself.

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