The Coalition for Atiku-Okowa, Ekiti State chapter, has expressed optimism that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, would win the 2023 election.
The group stated that the people of the South West will not bow to unnecessary ethnic sentiments to make the region vote against Atiku in next year’s election.
Acknowledging the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is from the South West, the group declared that that singular fact “does not guarantee that Tinubu will win in the zone,” saying his party, the APC, had betrayed the trust of not only the people in the South West but also Nigerians as a whole in the last seven years of steering the wheels of the country.
He noted that Atiku was also related with the Yoruba people by marriage.
This was contained in a statement made by the Ekiti Coalition for Atiku-Okowa at the unveiling of a Campaign House and Vehicles in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday.
Among the the co-conveners present, were Hon Yemi Arokodare, former member of the House of Representatives (2003-2007), Kayode Adaramodu, former governorship aspirant, Adebayo Smith, President, Ekiti Youth Movement.
Other notable leaders at the event included, Chief Mike Omoleye, former Senatorial Chairman, Mrs Yemisi Afolabi, former Woman Leader, Temitope Amerijoye, PDP State Youth Leader, Moshu Aguda, former Senatorial Chairman, Mrs Modupe Adeyemi, former Woman Leader, Akeem Adebomojo, and other notable leaders.
According to the coalition statement, “it has also become necessary to remind the purveyors of sentiments in the South-West that our candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, is married to our Amazon in the South-West, Her Excellency, Mrs Titi Abubakar. By virtue of marriage, friendship and relationship, Atiku is our son in the South-West, and over the years he has demonstrated that.
“The people of the South West will never be swayed by sentiments, but with issues, because Nigerians voted for former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo without looking at the content of their ethnicity,” Arokodare added.
“The South West is a sophisticated zone and we shall let the APC reap what it has sowed in Nigeria in the last seven years. We do not doubt that Nigerians are ready to vote out APC because our people have been betrayed by the party in which they invested their trust, but failed. Never again.
In separate remarks, Arokodare added that “it has become necessary to remind the purveyors of sentiments in the South West that our candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar is married to our amazon in the region, Mrs Titi Atiku by virtue of marriage, friendship and relationship, Atiku is our son in the South West, and he had demonstrated that over the years.
In his own remarks, Adaramodu said, “our next President must be rugged, ready to take insults, ready to make sacrifices and be there for the people. He must be both mentally and physically fit. He must be firm and flexible and above all, he must be well prepared for the task ahead.”
The former governorship aspirant who donated the edifice for the campaign, enthused, “where can you find such an individual? It is only in PDP. His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, is a master planner and dogged executor, he is the answer.
“Going into the election with a talented, silent achiever like the former Vice President and Ifeanyi Okowa will make the winning easier because they are both marketable.
Contributing to the speeches made at the event, Smith who donated the campaign vehicles unveiled to support the initiative, promised to support the success of the Atiku-Okowa campaign in Ekiti State and the Southwest.
The coalition, however, warned that “posterity will judge us very harshly if we squander this golden opportunity to rescue our people from the present, deep and multifaceted disorders.
“Let us join hands together with like minds within and outside our party to win for these eminent Nigerians in 2023. With determination, it is doable,” the statement added.
The Atiku-Okowa coalition is convened to bring like-minded Nigerians, groups and individuals together in Ekiti State to synergise and work assiduously to guarantee the victory of our Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in 2023.
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