The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressive Grand
Alliance (APGA) has dismissed the chances of President Goodluck Jonathan
in the forthcoming presidential election next month even though the
national body of the party has endorsed the President.
Punch reports that the party leadership in Lagos has decided to pitch
its tent with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) because they believe he
will likely win the presidential contest.
The Chairman of the party in Lagos state, Mr. Campbell Umeh-Nzekwe,
who also doubles as the special adviser to the national chairman of the
party, Sir Victor Umeh, told Punch that the president’s problem was
compounded by the fact that the motion to adopt him as the consensus
candidate of the Igbo for the 2015 presidential election failed at the
inner caucus meeting of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Saturday, in Enugu .
He also opined that the sermon of renowned Enugu-based Catholic
priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, that Jonathan had failed and should step
down seemed to have sent shock-waves across the eastern region.
He said, “The game has changed. As it is, Jonathan has no chance
of winning. Buhari seems to have taken over. The PDP has collapsed in
the North if you care to know. All those who are running to Aso Rock and
making promises to the President are just deceiving him.”
Umeh-Nzekwe, however, didn’t say if his party will support Buhari in next month’s election.
He said, “Jonathan is a sitting President with incumbency factor in his favour but Buhari has the masses and a cult following in the North. In 2011, Buhari won 12 million votes in the North with his rag-tag party, the Congress for Progressive Change, without a single governor or senator to campaign for him.
“Today, his party, the APC, has 14 governors, 43 senators and 176 Reps as well as 625 House of Assembly members. Also, the APC has dominant control of the North-West with a total number of 18.4 million voters and North-East with 10.2 million while South-West has 13.4 million voters
“ The PDP has dominant control of the North-Central and Abuja with 10.4 million voters while the South-South has 8.5 million and South-East has 7.2 million votes.
“However, no zone has achieved 50 per cent of votes cast but northern voters are more committed and trustworthy than those in the South.
“Also, look at Jonathan’s campaign team. He has Col. Ahmadu Ali (retd.) as his Director General and Peter Obi as the deputy while Buhari has Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora as director general and deputy respectively. It is time for Ndi Igbo to review their strategy.”
He said, “Jonathan is a sitting President with incumbency factor in his favour but Buhari has the masses and a cult following in the North. In 2011, Buhari won 12 million votes in the North with his rag-tag party, the Congress for Progressive Change, without a single governor or senator to campaign for him.
“Today, his party, the APC, has 14 governors, 43 senators and 176 Reps as well as 625 House of Assembly members. Also, the APC has dominant control of the North-West with a total number of 18.4 million voters and North-East with 10.2 million while South-West has 13.4 million voters
“ The PDP has dominant control of the North-Central and Abuja with 10.4 million voters while the South-South has 8.5 million and South-East has 7.2 million votes.
“However, no zone has achieved 50 per cent of votes cast but northern voters are more committed and trustworthy than those in the South.
“Also, look at Jonathan’s campaign team. He has Col. Ahmadu Ali (retd.) as his Director General and Peter Obi as the deputy while Buhari has Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora as director general and deputy respectively. It is time for Ndi Igbo to review their strategy.”
It will also be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan recently lost his kid sister, Mrs. Nancy Jonathan-Olei.
source news agency