2019 election: Despite defection, Buhari remains the man to beat, says APC chieftain

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Livinus Okwara, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and other party members not to lose sleep over the recent defections from the party by some members whom he described as unpatriotic and with hidden agenda.

Speaking in Lagos against the backdrop of recent defections of APC members especially in the National Assembly to the Peoples Democratic party and other parties, Chief Okwara, said the development expressed confidence that the defections by those he described as ‘political prostitutes’, would be inconsequential for his party.

According to him, many of them have no electoral value, and have records of poor performance as legislators. “So, our chances of retaining the Presidency seat and winning more seats across board remain bright.”

Okwara said some of the arrow heads of the defectors, including the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, do not have credible public office performance, when compared to the record of performance by President Buhari.

He said Saraki, for example, got to the Senate Presidency seat by default. “Nigerians are not in hurry to remember how he (Saraki) got the Senate Presidency seat. Since he became the number three man in the country, he has been a clog in the wheel of the very party (APC) on whose back he rode to the Senate.

Okwara said that Saraki, a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), which his close associates have now rejoined, has done many things untoward to truncate the good works of the party and Buhari to turn around the fortunes of the party, which has been destroyed by the former ruling party, PDP.

He said, Saraki has been frustrating the smooth running of the apparatus of the government of Buhari, who Nigerians believe is their man that can take them out of poverty, corruption and bad governance inflicted on them by the PDP for 16 years.

While urging the people of the South East Nigeria to rally round Buhari and vote for him and other APC candidates next year, he said by so doing, it would brighten their chances to produce a credible presidential candidate in 2023 on the platform of the APC, which Buhari has been promoting.

Okwara was upbeat that Buhari’s growing records of performance, open government and maturity since 2015 when he won the Presidency beating the incumbent, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, would see him sail through again next year.

He said, “Don’t forget that Buhari, given the growing support he has across the country now, would definitely surpass the over15 million votes he got in the 2015 Presidential Election next year, due to accomplishments/ improvements in all critical areas of governance, such as the economy; inclusive administration;

export potentialities; foreign reserve; corruption; security, revenue, sports, ease of doing business; agriculture; foreign (image) affairs; banking and finance, including Treasury Single Account, fiscal management; independence of the judiciary, local government autonomy; school feeding system; N-Power; Conditional Money Transfer, to mention a few”.