APC, PDP battle over Tinubu’s visit to Jonathan
…As parties contend over performance profile
…Opposition rattled, in panic — APC
…We will focus on issues, not trading personal insults — Campaign Council
By Moses Adeniyi
Running political battle between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition in Nigeria’s political space, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has become messier with raging war of words since the consultative visit of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to former President Goodluck Jonathan who held office as a member of the PDP.
Although, Jonathan officially has not declared his departure from the PDP, his default party, yet his passive and reserved disposition to the party’s activities recently began to attract concern from certain quarters.
Tinubu, who in his broad consultations has been reaching out to erstwhile political rivals, particularly those with affiliate influence with the main opposition, met with Jonathan last week.
Although Tinubu’s consultations with PDP affiliates and political juggernauts including Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and also former President Goodluck Jonathan who also led the country under PDP, have been taking toll, his recent visit to Jonathan instigated political hostilities with raging war of words between both parties and their stakeholders, since the meeting took place.
While PDP had taken a blow on the ruling party on Sunday describing its flagbearer as “a paper candidate who is confused, nervy and intimidated,” the later and its candidate on Monday fired back with blistering attack, stating that the PDP has run into panic and is rattled by the visit of its candidate to former President Jonathan.
“Rattled by the recent visit of our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the opposition People Democratic Party, PDP, has hit the panic button in false alarm, saying the move won’t help our candidate and party,” APC said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
The APC lashed the opposition party, stating it has again proven itself as a “party afflicted with chronic myopia, lacking in vision and incapable of recognising the imperative of elevating the common good above partisan quibbles.”
The ruling party described Tinubu’s consultative visit to the former President as “a strategic move for national unity and cohesion, a move worthy of commendation and emulation,” while maintaining that the opposition is blind to “existential and strategic opportunities to heal old wounds, mend fences, and build bridges of national unity and harmony.
“That party’s obsession with puerile partisanship blinds it to existential and strategic opportunities to heal old wounds, mend fences, and build bridges of national unity and harmony. Sadly, the PDP would rather fan the embers of hate and division.
“Asiwaju’s consultative visit to the former President was a strategic move for national unity and cohesion, a move worthy of commendation and emulation.
“The infantile outburst on the Asiwaju/Jonathan parley by the same PDP that claims to be on a self-styled mission to unify Nigeria only betrays the party’s extreme hypocrisy and folly.
“The PDP’s track record of 16 years of misrule, corruption and squandermania, remains indelible in the consciousness of Nigerians. Contrary to PDP’s laughable claim that the duo of Asiwaju Tinubu and Sen. Shettima are distancing themselves from President Buhari’s administration, it is on record that this government deftly managed two economic recessions, and pulled the nation back from the precipice where PDP’s years of atrocious rule left it hanging precariously.
“Our party and its Presidential Candidate are seeking the mandate of Nigerians to consolidate on the foundation of restoration and greatness that has been laid across all sectors by the Buhari administration. The PDP and it’s co-peddlers of hate and disunity cannot stop this noble aspiration,” APC stated.
We will focus on issues, not trading personal insults — APC campaign council.
Moreover, the APC Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement issued on Monday by the Director, Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, in reaction to a PDP’s direct whip on Tinubu, describing him as a ‘paper candidate,’ said its campaign would be issues based against trading personal insults.
The PDP had on Sunday lampooned Tinubu, over what it described as his fixation on the opposition party amidst the glaring failures of the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration.
The main opposition party noted that Nigerians are appalled by yet another attempt by Tinubu, to divert attention from the main issues of the failures of the APC government by making derogatory remarks about the PDP.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, said on Sunday that “Such fixation on the PDP only exposes Asiwaju Tinubu as a paper candidate who is confused, nervy and intimidated by the PDP’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the achievements of the PDP, which stare him in the face in mortal fear of failure ahead of the 2023 general elections.”
The main opposition having claimed that Tinubu appears to be battling issues of ethical challenges and ineligibility to contest the election on account of inconsistencies in his educational qualifications, name, ancestry, age, and corruption allegations among myriads of issues, challenged him to respond to allegations that he is the promoter of the increase in VAT, electricity tariff, import duties, Stamp Duty, fuel price hike and other exploitative tolls by the APC-led government.
PDP described him as baggage to his party, claiming that he is responsible for the daily exodus of “millions of APC members across the country into the PDP.”
“In the last month, over five million APC members have defected to the PDP. In the Lagos State axis, his supposed stronghold, close to one million APC members have decamped to the PDP since his emergence as APC presidential candidate,” the statement read.
According to the APC Campaign Council, PDP, by taking a direct whip on Tinubu descended in its response, into the pit of hatred and abuses.
The Council said the PDP has been jolted by its own unedifying mirror image as lucidly presented to Nigerians by itself at the weekend.
“Tinubu’s offence was that he reminded the PDP of its 16 years of cash and carry government which left the mess that the APC government has been clearing.
“Asiwaju Tinubu had queried the moral basis for PDP’s plot to return to power eight years after leaving thousands of uncompleted projects and commitments in trillions of Naira,” the campaign council said.
It noted that the APC presidential candidate only said a party still battling with leadership crisis and without a legacy of visionary planning has no place in Nigeria’a future.
“Uncompleted projects abandoned by the PDP administration include the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Kaduna railway and the Second Niger Bridge. PDP left undone railroads, roads, power and ports that signalled a prostrate economy and a socially disoriented country.
“The APC presidential candidate contrasted the PDP era with seven years of the APC government and its plans for the future,” the council stated.
“They spent 16 years and forgot that there is a railway infrastructure that can do haulage, human carriage, animal and food carriage across the length and breadth of the country.
“They (PDP) got there and turned it to an incubator. I wonder why they still exist as a party. These are people still fighting for leadership of their party, looking for the direction of the compass. We are not equal at all; we are smarter. We know the road; let them follow.
“We are not just the ones to hurl abuses and insults at our rivals’ party. We don’t need it. We are smarter; we are brilliant; we are courageous; we are not like them,” Tinubu had said.
The APC presidential Campaign Council noted that instead of the PDP which it described as ‘incapacitated’ to respond to the clear issues raised by Tinubu, the party abandoned all decorum and hurled personal abuses at him.
“This is usually the trademark of a party that has nothing to offer the people. no decent person expects PDP to do better though. The party and its leaders were clueless as ruling party and still rudderless in opposition.
“We have had cause in the past to state our objective in the 5-month campaign leading to the 25 February, 2023 presidential election not to trade personal insults. Our party and our presidential candidate will focus on issues that are important to improving the quality of life of Nigerians.
“The PDP has again demonstrated that it has nothing to offer to better the lives of our people just like its sordid past in government. PDP only wants to keep its floundering campaign alive by engaging in groundless muckraking.
“PDP and its ever clueless leaders did more shameful things, by declaring falsely that the governing party was dead, when they know it is the party that they needed to beat to realise the inordinate ambition of their perennial candidate and perennially failed Atiku Abubakar,” the APC Campaign Council added.
Exchange of words over performance profile had attracted accusations and counter-accusations since Tinubu over the weekend accused the PDP of ruining the nation.
