The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on Sunday faulted the endorsement of the Presidential Candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by various ethnic groups such as PANDEF, Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere and Middle Belt Forum.

The Council, in a statement signed by Festus Keyamo, SAN, Director, Strategic Communications (Official Spokesperson), also disagreed with “certain projections by a section of the press that give the impression that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is in some kind of a tight race with President Muhammadu Buhari in respect of the 2019 presidential election.”

According to the statement, “Firstly, as regards the endorsements by the above-named socio-cultural groups, there is no fraud bigger than that of known PDP members and/or hardened PDP sympathisers wearing the apparel of socio-cultural groups, purporting to represent entire regions and endorsing their own political party. The impression given through these endorsements that PDP is expanding its support base is also an attempt to deceive Nigerians because these are groups that supported PDP in 2015 and lost the election along with PDP. Therefore, their excuse that they are supporting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar because of the bogey called ‘restructuring’ is nothing but a subterfuge. In any case, Ohanaeze had said in its earlier release that the first reason they are endorsing Atiku Abubakar is that his running mate is an Ibo man.

“In the past, it used to be that some of these individuals have used the names of these groups and platforms to purport to represent their people and as such enjoyed huge government patronage. The proceeds of this patronage have never trickled down to their people they purport to represent but ended up in their pockets and benefitted only their immediate families. This is in perfect tune with the campaign promise of Atiku Abubakar to enrich only his friends. Therefore, like bees and honey, these people and Atiku Abubakar are attracted to themselves.

“Unfortunately for them, President Muhammadu Buhari has managed to navigate his way directly to the masses who they purport to represent and is ensuring that the dividends of democracy reach the people directly. Their annoyance is that they have been eliminated as middlemen. That is why the bond between the masses and President Muhammadu Buhari continue to grow on a daily basis.

“The curious question we ask is that, where were these social-cultural groups all these years when the PDP squandered our resources and failed to develop critical infrastructure in their respective regions? Are they saying that they are satisfied with the level of developments of infrastructure in their respective regions during the 16 years of PDP rule? Where is the outrage of these socio-cultural groups as the Buhari administration has so far recovered from PDP members and their allies a total of nearly N800 billion, 407 mansions, 259 automobiles, farmlands, filling stations, etc – all belonging to the Nigerian people? Where is their outrage? Instead they are endorsing these same set of people who perpetrated this evil against the Nigerian people.

“Secondly, as to the voodoo percentages allocated to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in some voodoo projections by some media houses (which should have since changed their crests to the umbrella – the symbol of the PDP), it is laughable to see them project a tight race between President Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. For instance, we note with amusement the clear lead given to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the South-East, just because his running mate is from the region, but fail to see that same clear advantage given to President Buhari in the South-West from where the Vice-President comes.

“It is also fraudulent to project the reduction in the advantage the President has always enjoyed in his traditional base, but fail to see the massive inroads the President has also made into the traditional bases of the PDP. These and many other funny and fraudulent projections are what we know the PDP is using to prepare the ground to rubbish the electoral process which its leaders know is an insurmountable mountain for them to climb. They are, therefore, going for broke.”

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