Juliet Akoje in Abuja
The Deputy Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential Campaign Council, Hannatu Musawa, has said that the party is confident that Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, would get a landslide victory in the northern part of the country during the next year poll.
Musawa, who is also the spokesperson of Dikko Umar Radda, the APC governorship candidate in Katsina State, in a media chat recently explained that Tinubu will win in the entire north because he is well known in that part of the country. She said:“Northern electorates know Tinubu very well and are eager to vote for him”
According to her, some of Tinubu’s engagements that endeared him to the northerners, include always visiting the region and identifying with the people, especially during burials and traditional festivals.
She also recalled that Tinubu upgraded the Arewa House Library in Kaduna, which is a centre for research and documentations about the culture and tradition of the people.
Musawa said the APC Presidential Campaign team is diligently working to ensure that Tinubu wins massive votes in the region. To actualise that, she said the team has embarked on door-to-door grassroots campaigns and has visited many rural communities, especially in the Northwest to canvass votes.
She explained that the people have warmly received their messages and expressed readiness to vote for Tinubu and Shettima next year.
She also disclosed that members of the team have been engaging women and youths in their campaigns, especially in rural areas.
Commenting on the current growing support for the Labour Party presidential, candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, and how it would affect the chances of the APC in the 2023 polls, Musawa ruled out the possibility.
She stated that the OBIdient Movement is a mere social media rant, claiming that many youths, especially in the north who vote during elections have no access to social media platforms and have nothing to do with the movement. She also claimed that Obi is not well known in the north and would not get their votes.
Speaking further on the outlook of the political landscape as the election draws closer, the United Kingdom-trained lawyer and human rights activist, admitted that the activities of the Labour Party presidential candidate have at best revolutionized the campaign process, but only succeeded in displacing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from its strongholds.
“The armed gang has taken over parts of the South-east and some states in the South-south region, while the APC maintained control over areas, hitherto under it”
“I can say that Obi cannot win the north,” Musawa stated, arguing that the LP candidate cannot win 25 per cent of votes in the election in at least 24 of the 36 states of the federation in the first round as required by the constitution.”
She also criticised the opinion polls about the presidential election that showed Tinubu scoring below other candidates like Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
“The platforms that conducted the polls were mostly online and did not capture the opinion of the northern populace who don’t have access to the internet, and so, is not a true reflection of the reality on the ground”
On the manifestos of the political parties vying for president, she admitted that they all presented good blueprints for addressing Nigeria’s challenges but insisted that the APC’s own is more widespread in terms of covering issues affecting the country.
When asked why Tinubu has not been participating in the 2023 election debates with other candidates in live debates and other platforms to engage Nigerians directly, Musawa said the reason is that the platforms are biased and Tinubu would not want to be engaged in such.
