The Presidency said Tuesday that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should forget about winning the 2023 general elections but the opposition threw back, saying the assertion that Nigerians should wait for Buhari to show the way smacked of a self-succession plot.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, had in Daura Katsina state, shortly after observing the Eid-el-Kabir prayers, said that Nigerians knew too well what the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has done for the country and its people and would not allow another party to take over in 2023.
He said the President also enjoys the support of Nigerian masses that would never abandon him.
“The President enjoys unshakable support not only in his hometown but also across the country and it is enough for the opposition to admit that the President matters a lot for the ruling party and Nigerians in general.
“Again, he constitutes a political obstacle they cannot dismantle come 2023. We believe the PDP and other opposition parties are nursing false hopes of taking power come 2023.
“The masses will never abandon President Buhari’s leadership and the APC. I assure you that in 2023, the masses will be waiting for the President to show the way in, courtesy of what he has been building for the country in terms of infrastructure and wellbeing of young people in the country. Nobody will take the risk by inviting another party to come and take over in 2023,” he said.
In reaction, the PDP however said the assertion by the Presidency that Nigerians will be waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari “to show the way in 2023” has further heightened public apprehensions of self-succession plot by the cabal in the Presidency.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, Tuesday, said “such statement by the Presidency, which is in its last lap of the second and final tenure in office, is not only provocative but also smacks of plots to derail our constitutional democratic order.”
The party added that, “Perhaps the comment by the Buhari Presidency explains why there have been heavy onslaught against our institutions of democracy as well as the Electoral Act.
“Our party and indeed the majority of Nigerians across board and even across party lines caution President Buhari’s handlers to note that such plots cannot stand as it will be firmly resisted by the people.”
Continuing, the statement read: “Shehu Garba should be bold enough to announce that President Buhari will be on the ballot for another term in 2023 and watch how Nigerians will respond.
“The 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear on the tenure of office of the President and such cannot be extended under any guise or conditions whatsoever.
“It is imperative for Shehu Garba to note that Nigerians have been subjected to the worst forms of hardship under the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and will never allow anything that will keep this administration in office a day beyond May 29, 2023”.
