Osita Okechukwu, a founding member of the APC and the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, has pointed out that Atiku Abubakar’s refusal to support Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential elections was a key factor in the PDP’s defeat to APC’s Bola Tinubu.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS, Okechukwu explained that when Atiku declined to support Obi’s presidential bid, it split the votes that the PDP could have garnered, as Obi defected to the Labour Party.
Okechukwu emphasized the importance of adhering to Nigeria’s zoning convention, stating that Atiku should have supported Obi while in the PDP, as it was the South’s turn to lead after the Northern region’s 8-year rule under the Buhari administration.
“What I’m saying is that when you hear people shouting about internal democracy on the political parties, it’s part of the process of the election. Just imagine what could have happened.
“Would anybody start saying that they could not gather enough agents, they could not gather enough papers if Atiku had supported Peter Obi or any Southerner for that matter?
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“It could have been what we were expecting, because I’m concerned about the growth of democracy in our dear country, and the growth of democracy has shown that in advanced countries democracies of the world, you mature to a multi-party system where there are two dominant political parties. So, the people’s idea will be rotating about the message, the ideologies, the principles of those two major political parties.”
Regarding Atiku’s previous unsuccessful presidential runs, Okechukwu stated, “That he didn’t win in the 2019 election does not mean that he must run when it is the turn of the South.”
Okechukwu argued that while there were flaws in the electoral process, the PDP’s loss was primarily due to the splitting of their votes and their allocation to the Labour Party.
He discussed the importance of internal democracy within political parties and the need for a mature multi-party system, emphasizing the growth of democracy in Nigeria.
When asked about his assessment of the recently concluded electoral tribunal and INEC’s failure to provide electronically transmitted results despite earlier promises, Okechukwu suggested that electronic transmission of results should be made mandatory in future elections.
He said, “I’m saying going forward that President Tinubu and my great party and other political parties, we must come back to look into the tally elements, to make electronic transmission of result mandatory…
“Let’s go electronic all through so that we can conclude cases before swearing in.”
Okechukwu concluded by congratulating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his victory and commending Peter Obi and Atiku for pursuing legal and democratic avenues to address their grievances regarding the February 25 polls.
