2019: We can’t allow Tinubu deliver bad product, PDP tells Presidency

The Peoples Democratic Party has crticised the Presidency for allegedly abandoning its responsibility of governance but now concerned itself with the running of a political party.

It said that the Presidency was more concerned on how to return an obviously unpopular presidential candidate in 2019.

It said that the appointment of a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as the leader of the All Progressives Congress Reconciliation Committee by the Presidency was wrong.

It added that Tinubu, who is also the national leader of the  ruling party, could not deliver an unpopular presidential candidate in 2019.

The party said the Presidency had become so panicky that it had effectively hijacked the functions of the leadership of its alleged “dysfunctional and ideologically-vacuous All Progressives Congress,” by appointing people into partisan offices, outside the much-desired responsibility of governance.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said, “It is ludicrous that after almost three years of failure to deliver on its campaign promises, the Buhari Presidency is now moving around, cap in hand, looking for those to use once again to beguile Nigerians ahead of the 2019 elections.”

Ologbondiyan said that the Buhari Presidency had failed to be remorseful for its alleged misrule, noting that the disagreements in his  (Buhari’s) party were fallouts of members’ resentment towards his desperation for power.

He said, “There is widespread disenchantment and indignation across the nation resulting from hunger and the inability of the Buhari Presidency to provide the people with basic necessities of life, which they had always enjoyed in the past.

“Nigerians are therefore waiting to see how Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has also openly expressed his concerns and disapprovals on the mismanagement of the economy and whose large constituents are direct victims of the ineptitude, impunity, nepotism, dictatorial tendencies, corruption and insecurity that have characterised the Buhari Presidency, will now turn around to preach that all is well and attempt to sell a practically bad product to the nation.

“It is instructive to further state that the desperate move by the Presidency to politically prey on individuals is mere foolhardiness and a totally decadent approach to pit key leaders against the people on an issue that has already been thrown overboard.

“This is more so as the political institutions and front runners that threw up the Buhari Presidency in 2015 have now, not only regretted their actions, but have also strongly advised that President Buhari should not contemplate contesting a second term in office.

“Nigerians today suffer from pains inflicted on them by this administration and no amount of manipulation of individuals and public institutions can make them change their resolve to vote out the APC in 2019, particularly as the party is stuck with an unpopular candidate.”

Ologbondiyan added that the PDP found  the APC’s attempt to reconcile its dwindling ranks as laughable, cosmetic and politically inconsequential.

“It will interest the APC to know that Nigerians are already rallying with the repositioned and rebranded PDP as we are poised to present a credible, competent and reliable candidate through a free, fair and transparent presidential primary,” he added.

Responding, the APC asked the PDP to steer clear of its internal affairs.