• Atiku courts voters in 14
Three frontline presidential candidates in the upcoming election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, and Peter Obi of the Labor Party, have scoured 24 states to attract voters since the political campaign officially began on September 28, 2022.
Likewise, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has traveled 14 states since the Independent National Electoral Commission gave them the go-ahead to start their rallies.
Obi and his campaign team have spent the last three months building support and reaching governors, monarchs and political stakeholders in nine states, namely Plateau, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Oyo.
Tinubu, on the other hand, led a delegation of party members, governors, allies and loyalists to collect votes in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as a handful of town hall caucuses.
They are Lagos, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Taraba, Yobe, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Imo, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross River, Oyo and Abuja.
Unlike the LP, the APC presidential campaign was serially postponed until Tinubu officially said goodbye in Jos, the Plateau state capital, on November 15.
Collectively, the two parties have increased support in 24 states with 12 more to be covered before the February 25 election.
Asked how they hope to cover ground before the 2023 election, Obi-Datti’s presidential campaign council spokesman, Tanko Yunusa, told our correspondent it was not rocket science.
He said: “From the staggered schedule that we have, we intend to visit all the states. We are not missing any. Our rector has also said that he wants to visit all the zones and states. As far as we are concerned, how many states have our opponents made. We are almost even.”
While stating that the mission of rescuing the country from aging politicians and power mongers is a collective undertaking, Tanko invited other political stakeholders to emulate former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recklessness in nation-building.
His position was corroborated by the new Director General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun.
A furious Osuntokun revealed that the Labor Party candidate should not be compared to the current president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.), whom he accused of snubbing 70 percent of the people in the south before coming to power.
“Why should we ignore any state? That is not our standard. If we ignore a state, what kind of presidential campaign would that be? We are not like (President Muhammadu) Buhari, who was unable to tour 70 percent of the South when he was in the Progressive Change Congress.
“For days 4, 5 and 6 of January we will be in the states of Osun, Ekiti and Ondo in continuation of our campaign. Actually, two months is a long way to cover all the states and we are working hard in that direction. There is no state or region that is not strategic. I don’t know where you get the idea that some states aren’t,” he said.
In his remarks, the APC ruler reaffirmed Tinubu’s readiness to complete his campaign in all 36 states in record time.
In an interview with sunday punchTinubu-Shettima’s presidential campaign council spokesman, Festus Keyamo, revealed that anyone who follows his director’s campaign and town hall meetings would agree that he appeared to be ahead of his other opponents.
According to him, regardless of any emergency or contingency plan, Tinubu’s campaign schedule has been structured in such a robust way that it would allow him to circumnavigate the country in record time.
However, Atiku Abubakar is optimistic about his chances at the polls given what his campaign council described as the warm reception he has received across the country since the start of campaigning.
So far, the former vice president and his campaign council have landed in 14 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory. The states already visited are Akwa Ibom, Edo, Osun, Kwara, Ondo and Lagos.
Others include the states of Nasarawa, Plateau, Gombe, Borno, Anambra, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina and the FCT.
speaking to sunday punch, Director, Strategic Communications, DPP Presidential Campaign Council National Election Management Committee, Chief Dele Momodu, said: “Atiku Abubakar is the only candidate with friends, associates and structures in every part of Nigeria, who can build or buy in one. day. He has really paid off his debts and others will have to queue up behind him”.
Additionally, PDP Campaign Council spokesman Senator Dino Melaye joined the conversation, saying, “Our outings thus far have been excellent, the reception amazing, and the passion and enthusiasm breaking records. Nigerians love and love Atiku/Okowa.
In his remarks, Atiku/Okowa campaign spokesman and Delta state information commissioner Charles Aniagwu singled out the geopolitical area of the southeast for praise during the campaign council’s visit.
Fight between Tinubu and George
Meanwhile, a former APC chairman in Lagos, Henry Ajomale, says the longstanding feud between his party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the former PDP national vice-chairman, Chief Olabode George, remains a mystery to many. nigerians.
But Tinubu-Shettima’s presidential campaign council spokesman, Festus Keyamo, blamed the bad blood on George’s perennial failure to capture Lagos for the PDP.
The two politicians are seen throwing insults and political jabs at each other at various times.
