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Yemi Osinbajo
(Photo source: TheCable)
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With the choice of frontline lawyer-pastor Yemi
Osinbajo as All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chiefs have
returned to the drawing board, The Nation reports.
The PDP and the Presidency are said to be jittery over
the choice of the professor of Law and former Attorney-General and Commissioner
for justice, Lagos State.
The ruling party, The Nation learnt last night, was building its campaign
against the APC on the following pillars:
•If the APC goes for a Moslem-Moslem ticket, it (the
PDP) will brand the opposition party as insensitive to Nigeria’s glaring
religious divides; and
•A Southwest candidate will make it difficult for the
PDP to win the zone’s sympathy. Now the APC has picked a son in-law of the late
sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who is revered even beyond the zone.
Osinbajo’s “impeccable” personality has dismantled
every plan to launch an attack on the person of the APC presidential running
mate, it was said.
The ruling PDP had plotted to latch on religious
factor to win the sympathy of Nigerians during the campaign for 2015
presidency.
There were strong indications yesterday that the PDP
has returned to the drawing board on how to curtail the growing support base
for APC.
According to sources, PDP leaders were shocked that
APC chose a running mate without rancour.
It was learnt that PDP had expected a slip from APC in
order to make a campaign gain from it.
It was gathered that some “attack dogs” had already
been positioned to launch vexatious propaganda against the opposition on its
running mate.
There have been consultations between the Presidency
and the PDP leadership since Osinbajo was named.
A top source said: “There was gloom in PDP on
Wednesday, following the announcement of Osinbajo. The calculation was that APC
will be plunged into a crisis on the choice of its running mate, but that was
not the case.
“The PDP had been looking for a slight mistake to
brand APC a religious party after it could not sustain the bigot stigma on Gen.
Buhari.
“Some attack dogs were on standby to hit the APC. All
the plans have now failed.
Another source said: “By picking Osinbajo, the chances
of PDP in the South-West have become slimmer because the party had wanted to
take advantage of the political dynasty of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo to
make an in-road into the region.
“The Presidency had tried to accommodate the grand son
of the late sage, Mr. Segun Awolowo by making him the Chief Executive Officer
of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
“But APC has also made the late Awolowo’s son-in-law
as its vice-presidential candidate putting paid to any scheming by the PDP in
the Southwest.”
A third source said: “With the emergence of Osinbajo,
the PDP has returned to the drawing board.
“The ruling party is now left to base its campaign on
issues than sentiments.”
Contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP,
Chief Olisa Metuh, said the party could not lose sleep over Osinbajo.
Metuh, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “Who is
Osinbajo? He was an ordinary commissioner and we have hundreds of commissioners
in the country. The APC vice- presidential candidate is an unknown individual
in politics. He is not a threat to PDP.
“One thing I know is that if it comes to issues and
performance we will win the 2015 presidential election but if it comes to
throwing anarchy or chaos, the APC will have upper hand.”
Parties
were rushing to beat the deadline for the submission of list of presidential
candidates and those contesting for seats in the National Assembly.
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