6 Days to Presidential Poll: Buhari, Atiku in Final Push for Votes Why APC Saves Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa Rallies for Last Reasons PDP Yet to Hit Kano, Lagos, Rivers
Buhari heads to Gusau, Kwara, Ogun President Buhari’s campaign train is expected to pull over in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State today. In the state, the president is expected to be greeted by a huge crowd of supporters, being one of the states in the country where he has an army of fanatical followers.
Even though the indigenes have been tormented by rampaging bandits and kidnappers over the years, Buhari is predicted to enjoy a rousing welcome and may promise to step up efforts to deal with the criminality bedevilling the state if re-elected, and undertaking that could resonate with the electorate.
From Gusau, the president will, on Monday, be in Kwara State, one of the battle ground states in the 2019 elections. His outing there will provide a hint on the likely outcome for his party.
Until the recent defection of Senate President Bukola Saraki to the PDP, Kwara was an APC-controlled state. But with the Senate President leading the Atiku charge as the PDP’s campaign director-general, it is difficult to predict which party would win the state.
He is also billed to arrive Ogun State the same day. Buhari’s rally for Rivers and Bayelsa states has been slated for Tuesday.
Also, the grand finale of the president’s campaign rally scheduled for Wednesday, February 13, will now hold in Katsina State, his home state, on Thursday.
A Presidential Villa source, said: “The grand finale of the president’s campaign may now hold in Katsina, his home state. Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rally will hold on Wednesday while the rally in Katsina State has been slated for Thursday,” he said.
Barring any last minute change, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that after the campaign rally in Katsina, the president will depart for Daura, his hometown, where he will cast his vote on Saturday.
Credible sources explained why the president chose Kwara, Ogun, Rivers and Bayelsa as the last ports of call for his campaign, few days to the election.
“It is strategic, Kwara is in the NorthCentral and the home state of Senate President Bukola Saraki, who doubles as the PDP campaign director-general,” one of the sources said.
“Buhari and his handlers will like to make a maximum impact there, to show that Saraki is no longer a factor, so that the electorate will have him in mind a few days after, on February 16.
“Ogun is the birthplace of former President Olusegun Obasanjo while Bayelsa is where former President Goodluck Jonathan comes from. All these people are against Buhari, so it is significant for him to go and make serious campaign and commitments,” he said.
Since the official flag-off of his re-election campaign on December 28, last year in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Buhari’s campaign trail has so far covered 30 out of the 36 states of the federation.
The president has been to Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Kogi, Delta, Edo, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, Imo, Abia, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Gombe, Ekiti, Ondo, Nasarawa, Benue, Oyo, Osun, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Anambra, Enugu, Adamawa, Taraba and Lagos states.
After Lagos and Kano, Rivers State occupies the third position with huge voting population of 3,215,273. Notwithstanding the ruling of the Supreme Court that barred the APC from fielding candidates, the ruling party will still fight for huge votes from the state, which is controlled by the PDP.
In all the states visited so far, Buhari re-echoed the three-point agenda of his administration: addressing security challenges, reviving the economy through the provision of infrastructure and fighting against corruption. In some of the states, the president made pledges and commissioned projects. For instance, while in Benue on Wednesday, Buhari stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would soon commence drilling for a deeper search for oil and gas in the Benue Trough. Also in Aba, Abia State, the president pledged to provide more infrastructures to the South-East geopolitical zone if re-elected. This was after he commissioned the Independent Power Project at the Ariaria Market.
In Niger, the president had commissioned the N6bn Baro River Port Complex in Niger State. He also flaggedoff drilling activities at Kolmani-II Oil Well, at Barambu town in Alkaleri Local Government Area of the Bauchi State.
Aside rallies in states, the president had, in the last two weeks, held strategic meetings with various stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, all for his re-election bid. The president had met with all governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the APC. At the meeting, the president urged them to work hard for the victory of their party in
their respective states and constituencies.
Also, the president had hosted some retired generals, traditional and religious leaders. Among the religious leaders was the spiritual director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, The Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, who predicted his victory in 2015.
As the president was moving round the country canvassing for votes, it is the same as Vice President Osinbajo. Even the crash landing of his chopper in Kabba, Kogi State, could not stop him from going round the country holding town hall meetings.
With trader moni, Vice President Osinbajo has won the hearts of many voters, especially petty traders in markets, thus the opposition political parties has tagged the scheme as ‘votes buying mechanism.’
Atiku takes campaign to Kano, Lagos, Rivers
The PDP and its candidate are also doing a lot in their final push to sway votes to their side as the election nears.
The presidential candidate of the PDP is planning to visit Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kano and the FCT.
Sources said that like Buhari, Atiku is also interested in last minute campaign in places like Kano, Lagos and Rivers because of the large number of voters in those states. In Kano, the PDP presidential flag bearer will be relying on the renewed influence of the PDP, which has been waxing stronger since the defection of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and other bigwigs into it. The party has been enjoying a wide penetration not seen since its days in power in Kano. Atiku, it is believed, would be accepted by a huge population of PDP supporters and his political admirers.
Like Kano, in Lagos, Atiku will benefit from the structures and spread of the governorship candidate of the PDP, Jimmy Agbaje.
In Ogun, it is probably to get additional endorsement from Obasanjo.
Atiku and Obi have been wooing voters to vote them into power by making promises in almost everywhere they go.
Atiku and his running mate, Obi, have constructively engaged the ruling APC and its candidate, President Buhari and his handlers in the ongoing campaigns.
Like Buhari, Atiku and Obi have been campaigning with vigour and already traversed majority of the states in the federation, campaigning on issues affecting Nigerians.
Atiku has visited Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Bayelsa, Delta, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto.
Atiku had, in Lokoja, Kogi State, promised to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company where many citizens of the state would get jobs.
In Taraba, the former vice president pledged to complete the Mambilla Hrydro-Power project. He also promised to complete the second Niger bridge in the South-East when his campaign trail visited the region. These are some of the strategic campaign promises peculiar to these states.
In Akwa Ibom, he promised to build a refinery. In Zamfara, he vowed to end banditry. In Benue, he promised to end farmers/herders clashes, and in Borno and Yobe; he promised to end Boko Haram.
On the whole, however, restructuring has been a main thrust of the Atiku/Obi campaign. Atiku had been championing and promising to restructure Nigeria if elected, even before he became the presidential candidate of the leading opposition party.
Similarly, Atiku has been appealing to Nigerian youths to key into his electoral project, with a promise that he would create jobs for them.
He said his minister of youths would be someone below 30 years of age while the youths would constitute 40 per cent of his cabinet.
Students constitute the highest population of Nigerians registered to vote in the 2019 general elections, according to data made available by the INEC.
A total of 22,320,990 students constitute 26.57per cent of the total 84,004,084 registered voters, followed by 13,630,216 (16.23%) Nigerians engaged in farming and fishing.
Also, 11,844,079 (14.10%) housewives are registered to vote, with 10,810,006 (12.87%) from the business sector, 7,558,012 (9.01%) traders, 5,038,671 (6%) civil servants, 4,478,202 (5.33%) artisans, and 2,292,167 (2.73%) public servants.
Atiku had said that through his microfinance bank, he had moved 45,000 families out of poverty.
“I have owned one of the most successful microfinance banks in this country. I am working with people from Bangladesh because they are best when it comes to microfinance system.
“And what is the best way to move a family out of poverty? This is to empower the woman,” he said this in almost everywhere he goes for campaign.
One of his key agenda and persuasive strategies has been the criticism of the current government’s economic policies, anti-graft posture and inability to tackle insecurity in the country. This, analysts say, is boosting the Atiku/Obi campaign.
Atiku is expected to round off his campaign this week in the FCT, where a grand rally would be held to mark the end of the campaigns.
The date for the grand finale is not yet ascertained as the PDP presidential campaign train has since stopped following its timetable strictly. However, party leaders say the Abuja rally is expected to send a strong signal to the APC and its candidate, President Buhari ahead of Saturday’s poll.