……..Tinubu, Obi Relying On Regional Votes
Senator Kola Ogunwale the chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who represented Osun Central in the Red chamber of the National Assembly from 2003 to 2007 has thrown weight behind Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party to win the 2023 presidential election.
The former lawmaker while speaking with Exponent-plus news emphasized that the former Vice President has a national spread unlike the two other frontline candidates, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, who rely on regional votes from the Yoruba in the South-West and the Igbo in the South-East respectively.
Sen.Kola Ogunwale noted that the level of harm done to the country by the ruling APC for the eight years it has acquired leadership is enough to compel Nigerians to vote for the main opposition party.
He further said, “The future of the PDP is very bright in the presidential election because Tinubu is relying on sectional votes, he is banking on the Yoruba votes from the South-West, Peter Obi is banking on Igbo votes from the South-East, while Atiku, our presidential candidate is relying on votes across the country. Atiku will get the Hausa-Fulani votes, he will get his share of votes from Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Ogun States, and he will also get votes from the South-East.
He added, “If you look at the state of the country, how much do you buy a liter of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) now? We were buying PMS for N100 per liter, and now it is N400 per liter. To fly by aircraft from Lagos to Abuja now costs N150,000. So, who wants to continue with that?
However, the former senator emphatically stated On whether the position of the G5 governors of the party and their supporters who have not reconciled with Atiku, not likely going to negatively affect their chances at the polls, Ogunwale said, “What do they have? Didn’t you see when Atiku visited Ibadan, Oyo State? I am one of the organizers of the Atiku walk and it was very successful.
We met that large crowd in a state belonging to the G5, what is the meaning? In Rivers State, there is nothing Wike can do. There is nothing the G5 can do. Atiku is a grand master, he has done it before, and he will do it again. I doubt that he lost the other time. They had a discussion, and that discussion carries the day.”
On his advice to the people of the South-West region ahead of the forthcoming election, he said, “I will advise them to apply wisdom and if they live in this environment where a bag of rice that used to sell for N10,000 is now N42,000, and there is somebody who said that he was the one who put Buhari there, and he was unable to advise him, what is that person coming to do again as President? Nothing!
My people of the South-West, vote for Atiku so that the price of rice will come down to N10,000 as it was before, petrol will go back to N50 per liter, and flight tickets from Lagos to Abuja will return to N30,000. I urge my people to take my advice and vote for Atiku.”
Exponent-plus news 