Former governor of Osun State and Coordinator South-West zone for Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, erstwhile National Vice Chairman PDP, South-West zone, Dr Eddy Olafeso and Publicity Secretary of the zone, Chief Sanya Atofarati, yesterday, boasted that despite the infighting within the major opposition party, its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, would defeat
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.
The trio in separate telephone conversations with The Guardian Newspapers assured members of PDP not to bother their brains about the crisis within the party, especially the demand that the National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, should resign as capable of preventing the party from winning the 2023 general elections.
Oyinlola, who spoke after the meeting with leaders in Southwest, held in Ibadan Oyo State to strategise on the zonal campaigns for Atiku and other candidates in the coming elections, said, “Victory is certain for Atiku as APC has nothing to the campaign, considering the serious mess Nigeria currently finds itself, which has never been in the history of the country.”
The meeting, which was held at the South West zonal office of the party, was presided over by the National Vice Chairman of the party in the zone, Honourable Soji Adagunodo and Oyinlola.
Apart from zonal officers of the party who were in attendance, chairmen of the party in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti states were also in attendance.
Oyinlola disclosed that the meeting was the first engagement he had with the officers of the party in the zone since his appointment as the zonal coordinator of the Atiku/Okowa presidential campaigns.
He disclosed that the meeting deliberated on the strategies to adopt in marketing the party and its candidates and particularly, launching the presidential campaigns in the zone.
He described the deliberations as very fruitful, even as he declared that the PDP was ready to prove that it is the dominant party in the South-West.
Olafeso said Nigerians have tested APC and PDP and the style of governance of both parties would determine how the electorate would vote on February 25 and March 11 2023 across the country. “It would be suicide to hand over the country for another four years to APC.”
Atofarati on his part said the crisis in the party is not as serious as the ruling party and some people in the media have been blowing it out of proportion. “The demand that Ayu should resign to create a sense of belonging, equity and justice would be resolved soonest,” he said.
Atofarati also said the meeting deliberated on how Atiku/Okowa campaigns would be coordinated in Southwest from next month starting from Ekiti State to other parts of the region.
