Hon. Babangida Ibrahim, the Member of the House of Representatives for Malumfashi/Kafur Federal Constituency in Katsina State, has said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would lose woefully in the state in the 2023 general election.
Ibrahim said this in an interview with Saturday Punch.
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) chieftain said even President Muhammadu Buhari’s popularity would not be enough to help the APC presidential flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to clinch the state.
Ibrahim, who was formerly in the APC, said that “the APC is coming third in Katsina, struggling to meet up”.
He said that the NNPP would win the state and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would take second place.
The lawmaker said that the huge crowds at APC rallies in the state should not be mistaken for grassroots support for the party.
Read Also: Toyin Falola: A Transcendental Academic Giant at 70 – By Farooq Kperogi
“Let me tell you what is happening; when you have a government, you can organise any gathering but what is important and key is not about the numbers or the crowds you assemble in a place, it is about the feeling of the people at the lower level – the actual voters. That is what matters.
“By the time the election approaches, you will see that the reality will come out. All these cover-ups will be exposed. Because you have money, you can invite anybody; put any gathering of people together at any place at any time. That is because you have the resources to do that. But there is a limitation to that. Those gatherings, those crowds, they are all artificial,” Ibrahim said.
Asked if the NNPP has the structure to take on the APC and PDP, the lawmaker said, “Let me tell you what people don’t understand about political structure; most of the people who are following Asiwaju, it is either they are beneficiaries of the current government or they have interests they want to protect. I did an analysis; let me do it for you again now. If you go to the North-East, how many states can the APC guarantee of winning? Basically, three states. Give them Borno, Yobe and Gombe. They (the APC) cannot win in Taraba, Adamawa and Bauchi. Let me come to the North-West where I come from, you can only give them two states; if they are lucky, Jigawa and possibly Zamfara. They cannot take Katsina. Kano is gone. They cannot take Kaduna. They cannot take Sokoto. They cannot take Kebbi.
“When you look at the political movement, how will they get it? Let me bring you back to the North-Central; they cannot take Plateau, Benue and the FCT. Kwara is 50-50. Niger is 50-50. Let us give them Kogi. If you go to the South-South, it is nil; they cannot take any state in the South-South. Go to the South-East, I always tell people, Peter Obi (of the Labour Party) is not as popular as Atiku. But Atiku was only able to defeat APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance) in Anambra. He lost all other states in the South-East. So, if Atiku is more popular than Peter Obi, how can Peter Obi take the South-East? He cannot take it. What people have failed to understand is that in politics, there are interests. Assuming I am a senator in the PDP, or assuming I am contesting for the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP in the South-East, will I allow Peter Obi? Am I going to lose my election because of Peter Obi? So, it is a matter of interest.”
He said that the so-called youth revolution for Peter Obi was no more than a storm in a teacup.
“Let me tell you; most of those youth you are talking about, some of them don’t even have voter cards. In politics, when you say the youth, which part of the youth? In my state, you hardly see any youth talking about Peter Obi. Even in the so-called social media, do an analysis and X-ray the players – those leading the campaign for Peter Obi, they belong to a group or a kind of a class. I can assure you, it is a matter of interest. If you are in the University of Benin or University of Lagos, as a student, you will be claiming Peter Obi, but when you go back to your constituency you won’t be Peter Obi because you will be in the minority. In fact, you will even be ashamed to start campaigning or promoting him. But when you are on the campus, you can do all you want because you have a platform where you can play.
“So, when people are talking about Peter Obi on social media, I tend to wonder what statistics they are using to say Peter Obi is going to win. It is not about all these media interviews or town hall meetings. That is not correct. Ask INEC, a sizeable percentage of voters are locals. Most of these people you are seeing in the town halls won’t even vote because they feel they cannot go to the screening place (voting centre) and wait for hours. Some of them will go but they will not vote. That is why if you look at the number of registered voters versus actual voters, you will see a wide margin. Somebody has gone and done accreditation but because he is a big man – elite – he does not want to wait. So, he just goes back home and that election is lost,” Ibrahim said.
Leave a Reply