The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has alerted security agencies of possible post-election violence by supporters of the Labour Party (LP) who may be shocked by the defeat of their presidential candidate, Peter Obi despite the pollsters that projected him as the preferred winner.
The Special Adviser of Media and Strategic Communications of the PCC, Mr. Dele Alake, raised the alarm on Wednesday at the campaign headquarters in Abuja.
According to the council, pre-election polls conducted by pro-Obi pollsters, which projected Obi as the winner of the forthcoming presidential election were simply setting the stage for violence.
“The polls were whipping up the sentiments of Obi supporters and putting them on the tenterhooks, on a leash so that when they lose the elections, they can resort to violence.
“This is why it has alerted the security agencies to the possibility of ‘Obidients’ taking to violence after losing the election.”
The APC PCC maintained the contest is between its standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Even at that the campaign council maintained that Atiku will be roundly defeated on Saturday at the polls.
Alake who described the activities of the pollsters as a “cocktail of nebulous opinion polls”, argued that the polls have oscillated between the sublime and the most ridiculous.
“We want to state categorically here, that those polls will only lead to despair, despondency, utter shame, and disappointment because the pollsters only took a flight of fancy.
“There is no evidence and reality on the ground anywhere in Nigeria as far as the presidential election is concerned that supports Mr. Obi winning this election. Labour Party has no pathway to victory.
“This presidential election is going to be a straight contest between the candidates of APC and PDP and from more studious and rational polling, our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coasting home to victory despite the current challenges in the implementation of the currency swap and fuel scarcity that have caused some difficulties for almost all Nigerians regardless of social and economic status.
“We particularly find amusing the ANAP/NOI and Nextier polls that projected Mr. Obi as the winner or preferred candidate to win the presidential election. We have had cause to alert the security agencies to keep these pollsters under watch because they intend to prepare grounds for unrest by giving false hopes of winning to Mr. Obi’s motley crowd of supporters who have a predilection for violence with the way they bully, harass, intimidate and insult anyone who thinks differently from them,” he stated.
Declaring its readiness for the election, the campaign council said, its candidate, the party, the campaign council, and supporters have worked hard and are confident of victory.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission and our armed forces, especially the police, have all declared their preparedness and readiness to ensure we have a free, fair, and credible election.
“APC as a party and our campaign council are ready for the election too. We have worked so hard since INEC declared the campaign open for Presidential and National Assembly positions on September 28, 2022.
“We are certain of victory because Nigerians will elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for, he stands apart from the pack and has worked so much to earn the trophy,” he said.
