A political group, Atiku Abubakar Grassroots Ambassadors of Nigeria, has said that former vice president Atiku Abubakar is the only candidate that can defeat President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
The group’s National President, Mr. Ferguson Okpala, made this statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on April 10.
He said “What we are asking for now is that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should do the right thing by giving Atiku the party’s presidential ticket because he is the only one that has the reach, credibility, and capacity to face Buhari.’’
Okpala added that President Buhari has the right to seek re-election, but the opposition must bring forward the right candidate if it wished to have a tough election come 2019: “For us, the decision of President Buhari to seek re-election is a good one, it is his personal decision and right; nobody should deny him that. But we are not worried about that, it is even good for us because we know one of our likely opponents. Nigerians are wise enough to elect the leader they want.”
Okpala reiterated that the Atiku movement was not worried by the announcement, as it would only make the next general election a keen and interesting contest.
Okpala, who believed that power belongs to God, said that performance, and not incumbency would determine the 2018 elections.
“I don’t think incumbency will play a big role in the coming election, because the electorate will compare performance with promises which the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) made before they took over government”.
