Angry reactions have continued to trail comments made by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alh. Atiku Abubakar, during a live interview on Arise TV’s morning show, the latest coming from the Coalition of Arewa Youths for Peace and National Development (CAYPND).
Asked to comment on the growing popularity of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, Atiku had written-off the prospect of the former Anambra State Governor, saying his platform of choice lacked the needed structures across the country, to emerge victorious at the 2023 presidential poll.
Perhaps, to buttress his point, the former vice president drew attention to the performance of the LP during Saturday, July 16 gubernatorial election in Osun State, South West Nigeria.
On the possibility of Obi making an in-road into the North, as many have observed, Atiku claimed that 90 per cent of Northern are not social media compliant.
Hear him: “I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting,” he said.
“We could have seen it in the last election in Osun state. What is the performance of the Labour Party?
“This is a party that doesn’t have a governor, doesn’t have members of the national assembly, doesn’t have state assembly members, and politics in this country depends on the structures you have at the various levels — at the local government level, at the state level, and at the national level.
“So, it is very difficult to expect a miracle to happen, simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party. After all, they were saying through social media, they had more than one million votes in Osun state,” he said.
“But how many votes turned for the Labour Party? And then again, mark you, you’re talking about social media. In the north, 90 percent of our people are not tuned to social media.”
Reacting to the above interview, the Coalition of Arewa Youths for Peace and National Development (CAYPND), said the PDP’s presidential candidate may be living in a fool’s paradise after all, as feelers point to the fact that the presidential bid of Obi, is gaining unprecedented mileage.
In a statement signed by the National President, Alh. Mohammed Gwadabe, the Arewa youth coalition also berated Abubakar on his rating of Northerners on social media, insisting that the position confirmed the fears that the politician may have lost touch with reality.
“The Coalition of Arewa Youths for Peace and National Development (CAYPND), hereby declares total support for the presidential bid of Mr. Peter Obi and Ahmed Datti of the Labour Party (LP), and reminds those doubting their potential to emerge victorious at the 2023 election, that they may be living in a fool’s paradise”, the statement read in part.
It added that Friday’s interview on Arise TV, showed that “the presidential candidate of the opposition PDP, with due respect to him, may not be attune with current realities and developments in the polity”.
The statement reads in full: “Our attention has been drawn to Friday’s appearance of former VP, Alh. Atiku Abubakar, on an Arise TV morning programme, wherein he had made some statements, which we considered uninformed, with the greatest respect to the statesman.
“To start with, the PDP presidential candidate’s submission that the LP has no structure to galvanise winning votes for its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, flies in the face of prevailing realities.
“As digital youths in the North, we have since opted to join forces with millions of “Obi-dients” across the country, with a view to birthing a New Nigeria, that promises prosperity for all, while creating a society of egalitarianism.
“Again, we make bold to say that, contrary to the misinformation about social media status, the people of the North are prominent on social media and all Internet platforms, and we prefer Peter Obi and Ahmed Datti as the next President and Vice President of Nigeria.
“We will disappoint Atiku and his likes, who deliberately failed to develop the North, just to exploit us for their political advantages in 2023.
“That his insinuation that 90% of Northerners are not on social media, is an insult on the sensibility of the North, and this suggests that we are illiterate, as some of his collaborators want us to remain; objects of exploitation.
“We are now not just on all social media, platforms, but very learned and well-informed, to the Glory of Allah. We are no longer illiterates, like Atiku and some elders in the North want us to remain”.