The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday said it was going into the new year confident that President Muhammadu Buhari would be re-elected by appreciative Nigerians at the February poll.
But Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said – based on current developments in the country and the mood of Nigerians who were disenchanted with President Buhari – there was no way APC could win in 2019 except by rigging and banditry.
Speaking with Daily Independent, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, said Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, could not win the election because Nigerians would not want to go back to the past.
According to Issa-Onilu, the year 2019 holds a lot of promises as President Buhari would use it to consolidate on the foundations he had laid so far in the areas of his three cardinal programmes, which are revamping the economy, fighting corruption, and securing the nation from attacks.
He said: “Our expectation is very high in 2019, especially as regards the presidential election. We are confident that President Muhammadu Buhari and APC will emerge victorious.
“The people of Nigeria know that we cannot afford to go back to the past like we were under PDP. They know that with APC, the future is very bright. The signs are very encouraging.
“So, we see 2019 as a year to further consolidate on the gains of the last three and half years and, hopefully, by December 2019, we will have cause to thank God for what He has done for this country through President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.”
On his part, Ologbondiyan expressed confidence that the PDP would return to power in 2019, maintaining that the general feelings among Nigerians was that President Buhari must be voted out in 2019.
He said: “The APC cannot win by a wider margin than they did in 2015 except they want to engage in banditry. Looking at what is happening in the country today and the resolve across party lines, there is no way any right thinking Nigerian will want this present government to continue for another four years.
“The general feeling among Nigerians is that President Buhari must be voted out of office. So, I don’t know how anyone will come out and say he will be re-elected by a wider margin. How that is possible still remains a mystery to me except they are confident that the elections will be massively rigged in their favour.
“Where will the votes come from? The goodwill Buhari enjoyed four years ago has vanished. Everybody who participated in bringing Buhari to power has abandoned him.
“Even former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly declared that the nation cannot afford to reinforce failure. So, where will the votes come from? It is self-delusion of grandeur and that is what the APC and the presidency are engaged in.”
