Atiku will lose to Buhari in 2019, says South-East senator

Atiku emerged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the primary election in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital in October.

Days later, he picked former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi, as his running mate.

Atiku has a chance to gather Igbo support in next year's election having picked Peter Obi as a running mate. ece-auto-gen

But, addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, Senator Nwajumogu says the choice of Obi as his vice presidential candidate would affect PDP’s victory in 2019.

Describing Obi as a “pope without a cathedral”, the Senator alleged that some claims by the former governor are false.

“I don’t think that the choice of Peter Obi as vice presidential candidate, we are very happy with it as APC because Peter Obi is actually pope or bishop without a cathedral,” Nwajumogu announced.

Senator Benjamin Nwajumogu (APC - Imo) says lawmakers in the upper legislative chamber are underpaid. ece-auto-gen

“He is there; he is well known; he has talked much about his accomplishments; he gave an above average performance as a governor; but the fact that most of what he claims he is are not true.

“He doesn’t have a captive structure with which he can deliver votes to Atiku Abubakar. His choice would give APC further in road into Anambra state. You well know that the Governor of Anambra is not in the best of relationship with Peter Obi. To counter him, will be for him to work for us at the APC.

“The choice of Peter Obi, you can see is not resounding among the governors in the South-East. Most of them feel slighted and he is not the best choice.

“So you can see that if Atiku couldn’t make a good choice in picking his running mate, you can imagine the kind of choice he is going to make when he becomes president and if he does.

“But then again, I also know that there is no possibility that Atiku will become president in 2019. He would not win the election,” he declared.

'Arewa youths endorse Atiku'

Atiku Abubakar already has the support of his party PDP in a planned bid to reduce the price of fuel in Nigeria to an affordable amount. At his conglomerates, staff have received approval for a new minimum wage. ece-auto-gen

Meanwhile, a norther group, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, has endorsed Atiku for president in 2019.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the group’s President, Yerima Shettima.

“For us in AYCF, we have said it over and over that Buhari’s administration has failed Nigerians and we have passed vote of no confidence on the current administration before now, and to that effect we can’t trust this administration anymore,” Shettima said.

“We are saying that we demand a total new order and for us, the emergence of Atiku is a good thing for Nigeria and we have to look towards that direction.

“I will canvass other ethnic nationalities and groups to ensure that the tenure of this administration comes to an end.

“We will ensure that Buhari’s administration does not exceed beyond 2019, we will vote them out,” he added.

'APC, PDP are the same'

Meanwhile, former education minister and presidential aspirant of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Oby Ezekwesili, says both the APC and PDP are the same.

Dr Ezekwesili urged Nigerians to vote out the two dominant parties in 2019.