Abdullahi Adamu, The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has stated that it would be embarrassing for President Muhammadu Buhari to transfer power to an opposition party in 2023.
Adamu made the statement in an interview with BBC Hausa, claiming Buhari wants APC to win more than any other political party.
The former lawmaker dismissed the criticism alleging that Buhari is withdrawing from campaigning for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate, saying it is improper for Buhari to leave his job as president because of the electioneering.
“Anyone who tells you that he wants (APC to) win this election more than Buhari is lying. My reason is that it is a shame for the president to hand over power to a political party that is not his,” he said.
In a related development, the ruling APC has said it is targeting 10 million youths’ votes from the northwest for the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election.
According to the APC, the northwest remains the determining factor for its victory because youth engagement in the region is an indicator that they are ready to vote for the APC at the polls.
The Zonal Director of the National Youth Mobilisation for APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in the Northwest Directorate, Bello Muhammad said the party has seen massive defections from various political parties, and so engagement has to be high.
According to him, it is the reason why the party in the region has launched the Go-Out-To-Vote initiative, which targets 10 million youths’ votes from the northwest for Tinubu.
Muhammad explained that the initiative does not concern itself with youths and women without voter’s cards because it’s only those with PVCs can vote during next year’s general election.
He, therefore, observed that it was the reason the party has to mobilize youths and women with PVCs in the zone to support the APC to victory.
The APC chieftain while appealing to the youths to collect their PVCs, which he called their voting power, he said “This meeting is a follow-up to a series of activities of the directorate in galvanising support for our party and the presidential candidate towards victory in 2023. We are fully ready to deliver on our mandate as a directorate.
“Let me say very clearly the Northwest zone remains the most populous zone in the country and remains the determinant factor for winning the presidential election for any candidate. We pledge to give Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 10 million votes in February 2023 election from the zone.”
Muhammad described Tinubu and his running mate as easy sells because of their track records while serving as governors in Lagos and Borno states.
He added that “Most voters have understood that our presidential candidate is a force to reckon with, hence the massive defections into our party, and people are ready to vote for our candidate.”
If elected, Muhammad pledged that the APC flag bearer would fulfill his promises as from 2023, because he is a leader who keeps his promises.
