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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The National Youth Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mohammed Suleiman, says that the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is more grounded in grassroots politics than his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, Bola Tinubu.
Fielding questions from reporters shortly after the inauguration of Atiku United Front, North West, Suleiman said Tinubu was just mingling with politicians in power without a grassroots base.
He said anybody comparing Tinubu kind of politics to late MKO Abiola is bound to commit political sin because Abiola was known in every nook and cranny of the country like Atiku.
However, the National youth leader assured that PDP will win the 2023 election, saying the incumbency factor notwithstanding.
“PDP will win the 2023 election because things have changed from 2015 to now because the APC government promised the people to provide security, power, good education and so many other things. But they have failed to secure the lives and property of the people. This time around, the people have seen the political atmosphere; things have changed. So the people are solidly behind PDP.
“PDP is not afraid of incumbency factor because we were in power in 2015 and we lost the election. This time around we are coming back to take back power, and we are not afraid of incumbency. The APC government has promised a fair, free and credible election.
“A research group said Tinubu will win the 2023 election, but to me, it is a mere prediction from APC people. There is no way Tinubu will win this election. He has no base in the North. We need somebody who has political influence across the country. We need somebody who will unite this country.
“Those who are comparing Tinubu with late MKO Abiola are committing political sin. If you go to Zaria there is a house called Abiola House, but Tinubu is just mingling and interacting with people who are in political positions. He is not at the grassroots level of politics,” Suleiman said.
Commenting on thuggery at political campaign rallies, he said, “We always condemn thuggery among youths. We always advise them to stay off thuggery. And that if anybody asks you to commit thuggery, ask such person to bring out his own children too. Those who send thugs to disrupt campaigns are enemies of democracy”.
The youth leader dismissed the efficacy of the same-faith presidential ticket of APC, saying, “Muslim-Muslim ticket will not work in the North. Those using religious sentiment to get votes will see that this time around everything will change. Nigerians are looking at somebody who has the capacity; who can unite this country.”
