A former Minister of Information and APC chieftain, Prince Tony Momoh, on Friday said that despite the defection of some bigwigs from the All Progressives Congress, APC, President Muhammadu Buhari would still win a second term ticket next year.
He hinged his confidence on his belief that the President has performed creditably as a leader, and Nigerians would show appreciation and re-elect him.
Momoh spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos, against the backdrop of defection into the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, several other members of the National Assembly, Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Samuel Ortom, Benue, and Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto, with most of their assembly members, APC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi and Nigeria’s envoy to South Africa, Alhaji Ibeto.
According to him, while the defectors might get substantial votes for their new party in their respective areas, Buhari would still win in their domains.
He said Buhari got more votes than most of the defectors in their respective zones and states in the last presidential election, and the same thing would happen in the next election.
But Momoh said that there is no cause for alarm, saying: “I do not think the defection would stop the President from winning in the next election.
“I will not say that it will not affect the votes of the president; votes are about people, and now that some people have left, it will have some impact.
“But I do not think that the impact will be such that it would stop the president from winning.
“Come to think, the president got more votes more than the defectors in their senatorial zones and states mostly in the North in 2015.
“Overall he got 15 million votes in the election. Now that he is president who has performed well, he will get more votes mostly in the South-South and South-East.
“He has delivered great projects in these two regions which did not really vote for him in 2018.
“The votes the president will get in these regions will make up much more for the very few votes he might lose to defections in the North.”
Momoh said APC should not lose sleep over the defection, as Buhari would record his biggest win ever in 2019.
The former minister said the president had not disappointed Nigerians on the three-pronged promises of security, corruption and economy on which he campaigned.
He said the second term of the president would enable him to consolidate on his present achievements.
The Guardian
