Speculation around the likely presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued with the former spokesman of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Segun Sowunmi saying only Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State posed a real threat.
Sowunmi who was a guest on Channels TV programme Politics Today said President Muhammadu Buhari cannot lead APC to victory come 2023. He was reacting to the comments by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, that President Buhari would exploit his popularity to determine who will succeed him.
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But Sowunmi in response to Shehu’s assertions said the President failed to win elections thrice until he entered into an alliance with the former Lagos State governor in 2015. He went on to say only Tinubu and Gov Bello have what it takes to upstage the PDP and other parties.
However, an APC chieftain, Yakubu Adamu, has dismissed Sowunmi’s postulations. Adamu in a statement issued in Katsina on Friday. He said the ruling party had better options when it comes to picking a presidential candidate.
The statement read in part: “President Buhari in his chat with Arise TV said the APC will come up with a candidate that will be acceptable to the majority. Such a candidate in my opinion must have age on his side. If he is a governor or any other class of public office holder, he must have an enviable scorecard. Also important to APC is our having a candidate with no baggage, an individual, who like President Buhari is an epitome of transparency and accountability. Sowumi throwing up names without these considerations in disingenuous”.
Adamu further accused Sowunmi of bringing up names that will make the APC unattractive to voters.
“It is easy to see through Sowunmi’s plans. He hopes to share names that Nigerians will totally over look, thereby making his party look good. I call on APC faithful and supporters to ignore the names bandied by the PDP publicist as our best options and focus on supporting the leadership of our great party to produce a credible candidate”, the statement further read.
