Following their meeting with members of Arewa Consultative Forum in Kaduna, leading candidates in next year’s presidential election have declared their readiness to meet with other regional and ethnic leaders.
Presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the flag bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, said they would be willing to engage leaders of the different ethnic nationalities in the country ahead of the February 2023 presidential election. A source from Tinubu’s camp, who is a leading member of the campaign council said: “Having started the appearance with the Arewa Consultative Forum, it is in our plans to also extend such appearance to other socio-cultural organisations especially prominent ones like Ohanaeze, Afenifere and Ijaw groups, among others.
“The possible date for such I cannot accurately say for now, but I want to confirm to you that meeting them is a given. What is certain is that our candidate wants to win the forthcoming presidential election next year and anything that needs to be done to facilitate his victory must be explored.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on his part, said he would be willing to engage with stakeholders across the six geopolitical zones if he was invited. The Presidential candidate, who spoke through his media aide, Paul Ibe, said his recent interface with Northern leaders, in Kaduna, was at the instance of the Arewa people. The former vice president said if leaders from other parts of the country organise such event and invites him, he would attend.
His words: “It was not His Excellency’s event. It was an Arewa event. So others are at liberty to organise such an event. That will be good. It will enrich the process and the opportunity to engage different stakeholders in different areas. His Excellency has been doing that long before now. Every other thing that is done, in that regard to expand the scope of engagement will enrich our democratic system.” The Labour Party (LP) noted that it had already engaged with a number of leaders and groups across the country. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Abayomi Oluwafemi, told Saturday Sun: “We have already met all of them – PANDEF, Ohanaeze and Afenefere. We met them already about two months ago in Lagos at Baba Adebanjo’s House in Ikoyi. And of course, we plan to carry them along in our campaigns and activities. We met them and that is why you see them coming out for the first time to declare their support for the best man who is Mr. Peter Obi.” On the party’s preparedness to kick-start its campaigns today in Nasarawa, he said: “We are fully ready. We are ready to go to the nooks and crannies of the country to sell ourselves.” (Saturday Sun)
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