Nigeria: Reject APC, Buhari, PDP Urges North-West As They Storm Sokoto For Atiku

Akanimo Sampson

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential campaign train is in Sokoto, an ancient  city located in the extreme North-West Nigeria,near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River this Monday to market their candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as part of their North West Presidential zonal rally

Those who know better say the name Sokoto, a modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato, is of Arabic origin, representing suk, ‘market’. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello or Sokoto, capital of Shaihu and Bello.

Being the seat of the former Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims.

Against this historical background, the Director, Media & Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said they are in Sokoto to focus on issues and also address the concerns, plights, fears and aspirations of Nigerians in the geo-political zone, in line with the policy document of their presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

According to him, ‘’the campaign will use the rally to touch base with leaders in the geo-political zone on further consultations on the national consensus to rescue our nation from the misrule of the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency and the dysfunctional All Progressives Congress (APC).’’

Noting that the North-West axis of Nigeria bears heavy imprints of neglect by President Buhari’s administration, the campaign spokesman claimed that the President and the APC cannot point to any key development project articulated and completed by it in the last three and half years, despite the huge resources it claims to have channeled to the zone.

‘’The zone is hugely disappointed in President Buhari, who had failed to fulfill any of his 2015 campaign promises even as it is piqued by his 2019 ‘next level’ campaign mantra which shows Mr. President’s lack of remorse for his failures’’, PDP said, alleging that the geo-political zone has completely lost confidence in President Buhari.

Continuing, PDP claimed that because of the foregoing, ‘’the zone is now rallying with our Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who has demonstrated an unrivaled competence and political will to reposition the nation and return her to the path of national cohesion and economic prosperity’’.

Meanwhile, APC has been hitting hard on the PDP, blaming the party which dominated the affairs of Nigeria for 16 years, for the worrisome social and economic decay in the country. For the APC therefore, the power seeking PDP is not a credible alternative to them.

The reality however, is that the line between the two parties is very thin. The same political gladiators who may have contributed to the PDP mess, later poured into the APC wearing a messianic toga because in Nigeria politicians easily criss-cross the parties depending on their personal interest. The dominant parties are not driven by ideology.

This post was written by Akanimo Sampson.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

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