….Sets 1.2m votes target for Ondo APC

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: President Bola Tinubu has questioned the capacity of former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar to win the 2027 presidential election, saying the former customs chief cannot command consensus even in his home state of Adamawa.

The president also queried Peter Obi’s credentials, saying the ability to import cheap South African wines doesn’t make one a guru in economics.

Tinubu spoke on Wednesday at the All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Campaign Rally in Ondo State, where he was represented by his vice, Kashim Shettima. The president also set a target of 1.2 million votes for the party in the state.

“Our political opponents can conduct political rallies on Facebook and Instagram, but for somebody who cannot gain a consensus at the home front, Atiku Abubakar is from Adamawa State. He has been unable to achieve consensus even in his own Adamawa State.

“Of all the five governors that have ever ruled Adamawa in the current dispensation, from Mr Boni Haruna to Murtala Nyako, to James Bala Ngilari, to Senator Mohammed Bindow Jibrilla, to Right Honourable Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, none of these governors and former governors are in alignment with Atiku Abubakar. And right now, he has three gubernatorial candidates in Adamawa State.. How he is going to unite and drive the nation?”, he asked.

Shettima also took on Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress NDC, asking how many former Anambra State governors were with him. “Is Chris Ngige here with him? The answer is no. Is Willie Obiano with him? The answer is no. Is my friend Charles Chukwuma Soludo with him? The answer is no.”

He said Obi’s economic credentials were overstated. “The ability to import cheap South African wines doesn’t make one a guru in economics.”

Turning to Ondo, Shettima said the state had rallied behind the President. “There is a universal elite consensus backing the President here in Ondo,” he said, naming former Governor Olusegun Mimiko among those aligned with the APC.

On the target, he said: “You have registered voters of 2.116 million, we hope that on the 16th of January next year, we hope that the minimum votes we expect from Ondo is 1.2 million votes out of the 1.8 million who have collected their PVCs.”

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had earlier promised the President “a minimum of one million votes”. He said: “Ondo State stands by you. You have given us more than enough reason to elect you.”

The Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, said that figure was too modest. “This one million votes said by Governor, as the DG of the Asiwaju Presidential Campaign Committee, is still small,” he said.

He told the gathering: “We are not looking for Asiwaju to win by a margin. We are looking for Asiwaju to get millions of votes that will give the margin for the presidency.”

The National Chairman of the APC, Nentawe Yilwatda, said 18 candidates had been presented by 18 political parties ahead of the 16 January presidential election. “Among those 18 candidates, who has the wisdom of experience, wisdom of exposure, wisdom of preparation and wisdom of purpose?” he asked.

Yilwatda said Tinubu had met that test. “He has confronted the economic challenges of Nigeria, and he has stabilised the economy. He came when more than 31 states could not pay salaries. Today, all of them can pay salaries.”

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said the uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were a threat to the target.

“Your PVCs are still lying at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices, very close to one million yet to be collected. The question is, without your PVC, how will you support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu? You must come out en masse, drop all grievances, be enthusiastic, and vote massively for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, he urged.

2027: Why Atiku won&#8217;t win Adamawa &#8211; Shettima

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