Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yakubu Murtala Ajaka, yesterday, called on the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to return to its fold.
Ajaka, who spoke to reporters in Abuja, said Kwankwaso is on a wild goose chase in the NNPP, as far as his quest to occupy the exalted seat of Nigeria’s president is concerned.
He said it is not too late for Kwankwaso to retrace his steps by returning to APC’s fold where he has the prospect of actualising his ambition in the years ahead.
The Kogi-born politician, who acknowledged that Kwankwaso contributed immensely to APC’s victory in the 2015 elections, assured that the leadership of the party would appreciate him.
He said: “It’s not too late for him to return to the APC. That’s where he naturally belongs and has an assurance of becoming a president one day, and not his current sectional NNPP.
“Although, some people might be deceiving him by calling him ‘Mr. President’, just one or two states in the northwest cannot make him a president. Kwankwaso needs a national party, like APC, to achieve his ambition. I plead to him to do the needful before its too late.”
Ajaka also dismissed the possibility of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, upstaging his APC rival, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, at the presidential poll.
He said: “The PDP and Atiku are good customers of APC and cannot go beyond coming second at any election, even that second position has been threatened with the result of the recent Ekiti governorship election.”
“The opposition party will make all the noises without facts and enjoy its propaganda for awhile. But Nigerian voters will eventually distinguish between PDP’s lies and APC’s record of achievements. At the end of the story, our presidential candidate will certainly emerge victorious in 2023.”
MEANWHILE, Kwankwaso has called on Nigerians to reject APC and PDP in the general elections, accusing both of failing the nation.
Kwankwaso spoke at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, during a consultation visit to the state.
He lamented the plight of commuters plying the deplorable Akure-Ado road, saying the APC-led federal and state governments have abandoned the people to suffering.
He urged people to trust NNPP’s ability to transform the country and place it on the path to progress, noting that the party has been experiencing surge in new membership.
He said: “We have seen the performance of the APC and PDP, and all of us believe that they have failed the country woefully, and nobody should expect anything from them again. These people in the two parties have failed and failed woefully. They have nothing to offer.
“The only way to avert disaster is for Nigerians to go and sell the idea of NNPP, which is a progressive party, and vote for it in 2023.”
