Re: PDP may die if it loses 2023 polls, Atiku warns

Adesanya-Davies agrees with Wike and Atiku

Long live A Federal Republic of Nigeria ready for Restructuring!  –Adesanya-Davies

Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA) Presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Prof. Mercy Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies,  the only woman aspirant under the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria has reacted to Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s warning on the 2023 pools.

First, speaking to our correspondent at RACHAMREPORTERS, in an interview Adesanya-Davies asserts that, “the position and role of a women as the Presidential or Vice Presidential aspirant in PDP as a party is as critical and crucial to 2023 election in Nigeria, as it was to USA’s last presidential election with the choice of Kamala Harris,  and this cannot be  overemphasized; as it has been the position of the Women wing of PDP.

Secondly, Adesanya-Davies also agreed with Atiku reinstates that, “the victory of of PDP as a party in the 2023 up coming election is so paramount and needs not be toyed with and nothing short of victory would be good for the party at all, as Governor Wike had also earlier warned, it’s not about who wins, but the party would need to win to save Nigeria from the current mess.

Gov. Wike had at a meeting in Kaduna said, “his goal is to ensure the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not killed, noting that it is important the party fields a qualified candidate for the presidential election.”

On the issue of zoning the 2023 presidency, Wike said the party will meet to take appropriate decisions.
“It is not a one-man decision, whether you zone it (presidency) to west, east, north. What is important is somebody that has the capacity to move Nigeria forward,” he said.

“Nigerians are waiting for us and we must bring somebody who has what it takes to move Nigeria from where we are now to what every Nigerian expect. Even if it is zoned to the south or north, we will sit down and look at people who have the capacity.”

The Rivers governor added that members of the party must unite to win the 2023 elections. He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed the country and Nigerians are looking up to the PDP for a way forward.

“My ambition is for PDP to be reunited. If you have a united party, then you are sure of victory. Does it make sense if you have a presidential ticket of a party and the party cannot win an election?” he asked.

“So for me, the unity of the party is paramount. It is not about going about (saying) you want to be president.
For me, it is how the party united and fight this evil, this monster they call the APC.”

Thus inline, “Atiku meets PDP BoT, says party can’t afford to lose 2023 presidential poll, “I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years.” in a report by
Agency Report on March 16, 2022. He called on members of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be united in working towards the victory of party in 2023.

Mr. Abubakar in an interactive session with BoT members to seek their support for his presidential aspiration in Abuja on Tuesday said anything short of victory would not be good for the party. He said the 2023 general elections offered the party opportunity to return to the power.

“I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years. By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.

“Ordinary people naturally gravitate towards government. So this is a very, very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival. I want you to think about it. We are now at a crucial moment in this country. Many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together,” Mr. Abubakar said.

The former vice president said that PDP administration had, from 1999 to 2007, made remarkable achievements that has not been matched by any subsequent administration. Mr Abubakar said that PDP would score more votes in 2023 if the BoT members worked together.

Recalling that, “Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes. “In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes,” he added.

He, however, dismissed insinuations that he was working against the possible zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South-east. “In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning.

“Many of you were members of our government when all the PDP governors came in 2003 and said I should run and I said no. We have agreed that power should remain in the South-west, Why should I?
“Some of those governors that supported me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices, we made sure that we kept the policy.

“Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy,” he said.
According to him, 14 of PDP’s 16 years in power were led by southern presidents (Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan).
“So we should not be stampeded by the opposition party. They have a moral obligation which is inescapable.

“Some say the South-east have not been given the chance. When I joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which my friend Bola (Tinubu) set up, he gave me a set of condition for giving me the ticket, one of which was that I should make him the vice president.
“I said no, ‘I’m not going to make you vice president. Instead, I took Senator Ben Obi,” Mr Abubakar said.

He also recalled that when he got the ticket again in 2019 to run, he took another person from the South-east, Obi (Peter), as running mate.
“ So there is absolutely no reason they should say that there is a deliberate attempts to exclude the South-east in political participation or power sharing.
“So I thought I should disabuse your mind and of course, as an enlightened political class, I don’t think there’s any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country,” he said.

On his part, Raymond Dokpesi, who is the Director General of Atiku Abubakar Campaign Council, called on BoT members to disregards all the ethnic and religious sentiments. He said that only the former vice president has what it takes to reposition the country.

“We have seen the list of aspirants that have shown interest across the various parts of the country but there’s none that has his credentials, his experience, his capacity and acceptance internationally and nationally.

The Chairman of the BoT, Walid Jubrin, assured that the BoT would provide a level playing field for all aspirants.
Adesanya-Davies commends Chairman of the BoT, Walid Jubrin, says, “this is a welcome development that will lead to the real change that Nigeria needs when PDP returns back to power in 2023 as we have actually learnt our lessons.”

The female presidential hopeful, Adesanya-Davies had stepped down for Atiku just before the 2023 Presidential polls in what was know as the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) arrangement in 2019, when MAJA, her party, where she was the flag bearer assented to the merger collaboration with CUPP.

We would recall CUPP was a coalition of about 52 parties with PDP the oldest Party in the country, taking a lead towards formation of Unity government then  in 2019, where Adesanya-Davies had  requested Atiku to step down for her, after he Atiku had successfully won as the PDP/CUPP flag bearer in 2019.

Therefore, it’s time for PDP/CUPP to return back to power in Nigeria come 2023, in order to give the nation their desired Unity party government with a National outlook once again.

Long live A Federal Republic of Nigeria ready for Restructuring!  –Adesanya-Davies