KATSINA, JIGAWA, LAGOS, RIVERS AS BATTLEGROUNDS

APC Insists on Card Reader We’ll Win in PDP States - Lai Mohammed We’ll Win 24 States - Mu’azu

With the Presidential election now over and retired General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan to emerge as winner, the political battle has shifted to the states where candidates of the parties will be slugging it out with one another in next Saturday’s governorship election.

While the APC, which is expected to form the next central government come May 29 maintained that it would consolidate its victory by winning governorship seats in the states, including those controlled by the PDP, the PDP said in spite of its defeat at the presidential poll, it was set to win 24 states and lead the country in the forthcoming governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Malam Adamu Mu’azu, yesterday charged members of the party nationwide to ensure that it wins 24 states in the April 11 governorship elections. Mr. Mu’azu, in a statement, listed the states the party must win to include Lagos, Rivers and Imo whose governorship candidates he described as “first class materials.”

“I urge the PDP faithful to pick up the pieces and ensure that we return quickly to our old winning ways. There should be no room for voter apathy that was a major factor to our losing the presidential election. While our opponents were savouring their famous victory, we should outflank them and corner at least two-thirds of the states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, Muazu said.

Earlier, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and governor of Akwa Ibom State Godswill Akpabio, after a solidarity visit to President Goodluck Jonathan, told journalists that despite Jonathan’s defeat, PDP would win the governorships and House of Assembly elections across the country.

“We’re going back as field commanders to hold our states and come April 11, PDP will still maintain its lead across Nigeria”, Akpabio said.

On its part, the APC said more states that are currently being governed by the PDP would succumb to the APC in next Saturday’s governorship election. This is even as the General Buhari has urged the electorate to cast their votes for the candidates of the APC in the coming governorship election.

In a statement he personally signed, General Buhari, while thanking voters for coming out overwhelmingly to vote for him during the presidential poll, said: “Your support for me will not be complete without electing APC state governors and Assembly members. Please go out on Saturday 11th April in all your locations to vote massively for all APC candidates.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the result of the presidential elections in which the party had an outright win in more states and had the required votes even in PDPcontrolled states was a pointer to what will happen in the governorship elections.

He said apart from winning in states it is currently controlling, the APC will spring surprises in the elections by capturing more PDP states. According to him, the PDPcontrolled states which will fall easily have already been marked out as shown by their pattern of voting in the election as the electorate in those states overwhelmingly voted for the APC because they have already voted out PDP senators and Reps members in those states.

He, however, said the party will not be complacent in the elections as it is aware that the PDP is still ready to grab the same seats the party has its eyes on, as well as the states being controlled by the APC.

The PDP currently controls 21 of the 36 states in the country. They are Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Benue, Plateau, Niger and Kogi. Others are Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Ekiti and Ondo.

Sunday Trust checks showed that the states where next Saturday’s governorship battle will appear toughest include Lagos, Katsina, Jigawa, Bauchi, Niger, Imo and Rivers. While the APC would be battling hard to retain its hold on the commercial city of Lagos, the PDP will be putting up a fierce fight to wrest power in the South-West state. In a similar vein, even though the PDP lost the presidential poll in the North-West state of Katsina (Buhari’s home state) the party which is currently holding sway there would be putting up a titanic battle to prevent it from being taken over by the APC.