The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, says there's no way his party will get a landslide victory in the forthcoming elections, but that he is “convinced” it would emerge victorious.
Mu’azu, the former governor of Bauchi State, made the remark in an unusual statement he signed in Abuja on Thursday to try to shore up the party’s dwindling fortunes and refurbish his relationship with the President. He has recently declared he would rather resign his chairmanship than insult General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
He hinged the PDP’s hopes on wooing undecided voters as well as traditional rulers, whom Mr. Jonathan is known to have been offering large bribes.
"We are going around the country in search of undecided voters, who are the final battle ground where the election will be won or lost, he said, adding that the APC could continue to stir the rumour mills into believing that he and Mr. Jonathan are in disagreement, but that they are very serious about winning the presidential election.
Strangely, Mu’azu implicitly conceded that the party was doing very badly before the elections were postponed, thereby confirming popular speculation that was why Mr. Jonathan worked so hard to force the postponement. After three weeks of town hall meetings, the National Chairman said, PDP was “inching its way to victory” in the presidential election, with that time-frame being the additional lifeline supposedly granted to it by the postponement.
According to him, "We shall continue this interactive engagement with Nigerians until 26th March when campaigns officially end before the March 28th Presidential elections, presenting our scorecard in government, our programme in the next four years to 2019, using the town hall format and meeting our revered traditional rulers.”
He flattered traditional rulers and offered further inducement by telling them the PDP has a special plan that will see them “play more roles in government in the near future via the instrument of the constitution,” because according to him, “the traditional institution is crucially important to the peace, harmony and progress of our father land.”
He also promised that President Goodluck Jonathan, if he is re-elected, will declare a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the North-East geopolitical zone that is being damaged in the war against the terrorists.
"Our party has this programme on the top of our agenda in the next four years. That will be the right way to wipe away the scars of war among the people of that area".
Mu’azu also expressed confidence that the PDP will win in the South-West and the North despite "our travails at the beginning".
"Our major concern in the Peoples Democratic Party is not to allow our country to be hijacked by desperados masquerading as purveyors of good governance, who promise heaven and earth to the people without any intention of fulfilling their election promises in the name of CHANGE.
"While I do not see a landslide victory coming, I am convinced that our party will perform creditably in the Southwest and the North of Nigeria and elsewhere in all the elections this year because the evidence is clear that despite our travails at the beginning, we have done very well over the past fifteen years of our nascent democracy since 1999 to record victory. Those who disbelieve our resilience will be surprised for victory is ours.'
Mu’azu, the former governor of Bauchi State, made the remark in an unusual statement he signed in Abuja on Thursday to try to shore up the party’s dwindling fortunes and refurbish his relationship with the President. He has recently declared he would rather resign his chairmanship than insult General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
He hinged the PDP’s hopes on wooing undecided voters as well as traditional rulers, whom Mr. Jonathan is known to have been offering large bribes.
"We are going around the country in search of undecided voters, who are the final battle ground where the election will be won or lost, he said, adding that the APC could continue to stir the rumour mills into believing that he and Mr. Jonathan are in disagreement, but that they are very serious about winning the presidential election.
Strangely, Mu’azu implicitly conceded that the party was doing very badly before the elections were postponed, thereby confirming popular speculation that was why Mr. Jonathan worked so hard to force the postponement. After three weeks of town hall meetings, the National Chairman said, PDP was “inching its way to victory” in the presidential election, with that time-frame being the additional lifeline supposedly granted to it by the postponement.
According to him, "We shall continue this interactive engagement with Nigerians until 26th March when campaigns officially end before the March 28th Presidential elections, presenting our scorecard in government, our programme in the next four years to 2019, using the town hall format and meeting our revered traditional rulers.”
He flattered traditional rulers and offered further inducement by telling them the PDP has a special plan that will see them “play more roles in government in the near future via the instrument of the constitution,” because according to him, “the traditional institution is crucially important to the peace, harmony and progress of our father land.”
He also promised that President Goodluck Jonathan, if he is re-elected, will declare a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the North-East geopolitical zone that is being damaged in the war against the terrorists.
"Our party has this programme on the top of our agenda in the next four years. That will be the right way to wipe away the scars of war among the people of that area".
Mu’azu also expressed confidence that the PDP will win in the South-West and the North despite "our travails at the beginning".
"Our major concern in the Peoples Democratic Party is not to allow our country to be hijacked by desperados masquerading as purveyors of good governance, who promise heaven and earth to the people without any intention of fulfilling their election promises in the name of CHANGE.
"While I do not see a landslide victory coming, I am convinced that our party will perform creditably in the Southwest and the North of Nigeria and elsewhere in all the elections this year because the evidence is clear that despite our travails at the beginning, we have done very well over the past fifteen years of our nascent democracy since 1999 to record victory. Those who disbelieve our resilience will be surprised for victory is ours.'
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