The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, is nervy, intimidated and confused by the achievements of his counterpart in the main opposition party, Atiku Abubakar, and afraid of failure in the 2023 election.
The PDP’s position came against the claim by the former Lagos State governor that the APC will bury the former ruling party in the exercise, causing the former ruling party to describe Tinubu as a paper candidate.
In a statement issued by Hon. Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary on Sunday, the main opposition party maintained that Nigerians are appalled by yet another attempt by the presidential candidate to divert attention from the main issues of the failures of the APC government by making derogatory remarks on the PDP.
The PDP said: “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 stared him in the face in mortal fear of failure ahead of the 2023 general elections.
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“Unlike the APC that is dead, the PDP is not only alive and existing as acknowledged by Asiwaju Tinubu in his statement, but also strong, united and focused on its mission to Rescue, Rebuild and Redirect our nation from the misrule of the APC.
“It is distressing that Asiwaju Tinubu speaks like someone under the influence with incoherent discourse and absence of mind that further expose a lack of capacity for leadership, especially at the Presidential level.
“It is rather shameful that the APC presidential candidate alluded to the nation’s railway system which was revitalised by the PDP administration but painfully surrendered to terrorists and bandits by the APC government.
“From his incoherent discourse, the APC presidential candidate appears to be battling with issues of ethical challenges and ineligibility to contest election on account of inconsistencies in his educational qualifications, name, ancestry, age, corruption allegations among myriads of issues.
“Moreover, Nigerians have realised the futility of Asiwaju’s non-existent and heavily concocted achievements, influence, leadership prowess and skills.”
According to the PDP, despite the fact that Nigerians gave the APC flagbearer the benefit of the doubt, he engineered a government, that it said brought untold hardship to the people.
The PDP added: “Nigerians gave Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu the benefit of the doubt but he failed them by engineering a deceitful government leading to the ugly indices of insecurity and bloodletting, economic hardship, unemployment, disunity and low life expectancy imposed on our nation in the last seven years.
“He should know that Nigerians are aware that he is in the presidential race not to serve but to gain control of the nation’s treasury so as to expand his exploitative enterprise and economic empire beyond Lagos State.
“The APC presidential candidate has not responded to allegations that he is the promoter of the increase in VAT, electricity tariff, import duties, Stamp Duty, fuel price hike as well as other exploitative tolls by the APC Federal Government, from which he allegedly benefits through many stooges in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other revenue generating agencies of government.
“Asiwaju is a huge baggage to the APC. He should know that because of him there is a daily exodus of millions of APC members across the country into the PDP. In the last month, over 5 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.
“This is because Nigerians have recognised the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as the solution our nation needs at this moment while Asiwaju has been identified as ‘Another Problem Coming (APC).'”
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