by Ranti Joseph
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, said the alleged tactical withdrawal of support by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and leaders of thought in the North for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari were enough signals that APC has lost the battle.
Fayose declared that the new development has deflated the ego of the opposition party to the extent that it has tactically conceded defeat few days to the March 28 presidential election.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, he added that the sudden u-turn made by the northern leaders, which had realized that Buhari would be made to shortchange the North, had distraught the party.
Fayose noted that Atiku and his supporters were already retracing their steps back to the PDP and that the North had seen the deceit in APC South-west leaders in pushing forward Buhari, even against the man’s interest.
He said that the issue of health of Buhari had become worrisome to the northern caucus which could not forget in hurry the Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua saga.
He said the APC was forced to cancel presidential rallies in Kaduna and Enugu because Buhari was not yet physically and mentally fit to go for any rally explaining that while Buhari was still recuperating in a London hospital, he had to come back home due to pressure mounted on him by certain leaders of his party who wanted to douse the growing apprehension by Nigerians over his state of health.
“We thank the APC for conceding defeat in the coming elections. At east, they, for the first time, appear realistic. Buhari’s insistence that he must be allowed to attend to his health is commendable. It is glaring that he needs to rest and not waste energy on a failed project. Those who claim to be his backers have abandoned the man and Buhari’s people have told him the bitter truth.”
“That they would prefer to wait for another four years than to get trapped by some selfish South-west leaders for eight years. The preoccupation of the APC now is how to retain the APC- controlled states and prevent the PDP from capturing them. The tactical withdrawal of people like Atiku, Kwakwanso and the battle for survival by Tinubu and Amaechi in Lagos and Rivers have woken up Buhari to the politics of deceit that some are luring him to.”
“While PDP leaders are confidently traversing the country meeting Nigerians and getting their support, APC leaders are held up in their hideouts. Who among them is canvassing support for Buhari now? Tinubu, for instance, is only pre-occupied with his aim of maintaining his stranglehold on Lagos’ resources by putting another stooge in the Government House, Ikeja, but this time around, he has failed woefully,” Fayose added.
Atiku stated that he remains irrevocably committed to the APC, as he promised in his concession speech at the conclusion of the APC presidential primaries, he will work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of his party at the general elections. come to think of it, who made Mr Fayose the spokesperson of Atiku and northern-leaders?