Victor Ezeja
Former vice president and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has bemoaned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for fixing its national convention on working days, saying it has implication on disrupting economic activities in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
APC after series of adjustments in its timetable and schedule of electoral activities, fixed the presidential primary election to hold between June 6 and 8, 2022 in the FCT.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a statement on Monday signed by Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar, he said the APC primary election is just another opportunity for President Buhari and other party leaders to handpick candidates for the 2023 general election.
He stated that if the delegates that would vote during primaries should reflect deep into what they are about to do, it is simply that “they should know that primaries of their party is not about any of the individuals vying for the presidential ticket, but a referendum on the APC’s scorecard in the past 7 years.”
Highlighting challenges that residents face on daily basis in the FCT, he added that “Even as delegates in the so-called election entered into the Federal Capital Territory, they must have been greeted with long queues of vehicles waiting to buy automobile fuel and darkness that continues to grim the capital city on account of seizures in electricity supply.”
He claimed that allowing the ruling party to take over in the next election amounts to being unpatriotic, adding that such move would not help the country as it is currently.
He said it needs no mention that whoever is ‘handpicked’ as the APC presidential candidate in such a despotic process cannot be any different from the authoritarian fervor of the APC’s establishment.
“Such a candidate, therefore, cannot represent the future of hope and brighter aspirations that Nigerians look forward to after the termination of the current state of anomie which the ruling party is known for.
“It is important to stress once again, that the 2023 general elections, more than anything else, is a referendum about the scorecard of the APC and Nigerians should not reward their failure with even a day more on the saddle.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
