The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council on Wednesday says the APC flag bearer, Bola Tinubu, is not intimidated by the alleged endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, by the Arewa Consultative Forum.
A chieftain of the ACF, Muhammad Yakubu, had announced two days ago that Atiku has been chosen as the candidate of the north ahead of Saturday’s presidential election.
Yakubu’s pronouncement was in contrast with the position of ACF Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, who had, on Sunday, urged northerners and Nigerians as a whole to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Aliyu stated that Northern voters are free to choose a presidential candidate with clear and objective party manifestos and the character and track records of the candidates.
But Yakubu, who is the ACF National Assistant Auditor, told journalists on Monday that recent statements by notable northern elders such as Alhaji Zango Daura, and Prof. Ango Abdullahi among others are enough evidence that the region had settled for Atiku.
He said, “The north supported Obasanjo and he won; the north supported former President Goodluck Jonathan and Jonathan won. Each time the north supports anybody, not because that person is from the north. The north usually considers capacity and competence and integrity. These are the factors the north used to consider.
“The north is supporting Atiku not because Atiku is from the north. No, it’s because at this point in time, among the candidates we have now, it is Atiku that has the capacity, the competence and the integrity and the reach out across the country.”
Reacting to the endorsement, the PCC Director of Strategic Communications, Idris Mohammed, said Tinubu is ‘not losing sleep’ over the position of the Arewa Consultative Forum.
Mohammed stated that there are several groups like the ACF in the north who are rooting for the victory of the former Lagos State Governor.
He said, “As far as we are concerned, the ACF is just a group. There are lots of northern groups out there who have also supported Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He is not only canvassing to groups, he is also campaigning to the masses.
“Everywhere you go, you will see the kind of crowd that Tinubu has amassed and the commentaries people make about him. So we really don’t take the ACF endorsement seriously.
“What we take seriously is the way Nigerians, especially the northerners you talked about are going to vote. We are very optimistic that Asiwaju is going to merge victorious in Saturday’s poll. Anybody can say anything.”
In the same vein, the PCC Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communications, Dele Alake, reiterated that Tinubu deserves credit for initiating town hall into the electioneering campaign.
Alake noted that until now, no candidate believe it was possible to have meaningful engagements through such interactive sessions.
“Many people are not giving him the credit he deserves. The APC PCC and Asiwaju Tinubu have redefined and set a new tone and template for a presidential campaign in Nigeria in this season. Our campaign introduced town hall interactive sessions into this campaign to take our message directly to the people across various sectors and segments of society.
“In so doing, Asiwaju and Shettima took their programmes to the people. They used the opportunity of the interactive sessions to directly share their plans and visions with the electorate and align those with the people’s own desires and aspirations.
“The town hall sessions became specialised focus-group sessions to connect with the people almost on one-on-one. The sessions yielded amazing feedback that our candidates have taken on board as they prepare to take the reins of government come May 29 after Nigerians would have freely given them the mandate to serve on Saturday, February 25,” he stated.
