2023: Atiku will win without Wike and friends - PDP campaign council

The party expressed confidence that the former Vice President will emerge victorious with or without the support of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and members of his G-5 group.

According to Atiku's loyalists who spoke to Saturday Punch, the PDP candidate enjoyed solidarity that transcends party lines, as they claimed that the task to rescue the country from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should be supported by well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of their religious and political leanings.

Speaking to the paper, the Director of Strategic Communication, National Election Management Committee of the PDP-PCC, Dele Momodu, boasted that no candidate can stop Atiku from becoming the next Nigerian president.

Momodu's words: “There is no candidate today that can stop Atiku Abubakar from becoming President of Nigeria. None of the candidates has his pedigree, exposure, competence, temperament, and network. He has paid his dues, having staked his life in the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria in the past 29 years. His crowning glory will come in 2023.

“I heard one of the G5 governors saying yesterday that he will announce his preferred presidential candidate in January. We hope they will announce Atiku but with or without the support of these governors, Atiku is winning the election. He will become the President of Nigeria. This is not rhetoric.

“Everyone contesting can list thousands of reasons they should be voted for but we need a man who is an expert at job creation, a unifier, a Nigerian that Nigerians can trust. Wherever he is called to share his vision, he goes there no matter how inconvenient it is. Unlike those who run away from town halls, Atiku is always available to speak about the issues. While others attack him, his focus is on the issues. We do hope these candidates will man up to debate him on issues of security, job creation, economy, sports, infrastructure, and what have you.”

In the same vein, a national officer of the party, Timothy Osadolor, described members of the G-5 which include, Wike, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state as a band of leaders nobody took seriously anymore.