Old and new friends of the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state have said plans were on to hand over a sweeping defeat to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.
The revelation came after a strategic meeting held Saturday in Lagos which had in attendance old and new associates of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the state.
In a statement made available to Blueprint Monday in Abuja, signed by Pastor Kayode Jacob’s, on behalf of the The Coordinating Council, said the meeting featured accreditation and sensitisation of “several top politicians and professionals carefully selected as Democratic Special Scouts to cover the entire state from Local Government, LCDA’S, to Wards and Voting Units as a backup and support base for the party in its efforts to mobilize and police votes at every polling units.”
Addressing the participants at the event, the statement said the coordinating leader and South-west PDP Secretary, Hon. Rahman Owokoniran said: “It is now clear that we are ready and getting equipped to trounce APC in Lagos in 2023. We will shock them with sweeping defeat.”
According to Owokoniran, it has been done before and “we are going to do it again.”
He said 2023 election will be a repeat performance of how victory was delivered to General Shehu Yar’adua against Alhaji Lateef Jakande in Lagos.
He said Jakande was a genuinely popular leader, even loved but was overwhelmed with superior strategy and assemblage of committed men and women.
“It was not a magic, this was how we started, some of the then young foot soldiers are here with us still very vibrant, the strategy is potent, the commitment is electric, and thank God for the new Electoral Act and the BVAS; the executive arrogance, coercion and manipulations producing false electoral victories in Lagos over the years will be finally laid to rest.”
While commissioning the Special Scouts to the Local Government and LCDA’s, Owokoniran explained that “the movement that is being put in place will push to the background, the issue of groups that kept robbing PDP of victory over the years.”
He assured that “the movement is a melting pot for all leaders and members of the Party and new entrants committed to the PDP victory project.
According to the statement, the name, character and composition of the movement will be unveiled at a ceremony by end of August.
The statement added that “A message from Chief Dapo Sarumi to the gathering emphasized that what is being done is to reproduce the contemporary version of the political machine of those years that produced many of today’s players and recent political history in Lagos.
“He believes that among those being put forward for the Presidency, Atiku is the only one that is not a gamble and Nigeria cannot afford any trial Presidency at the face of our current challenges. He advocates unity and comradeship with all interests within the party.”
