Atiku tips Oyinlola, Makinde to lead PDP presidential campaign

A former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and the incumbent governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, are being considered as the Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2023 general election.

A credible source disclosed that the PDP has resolved to pick the party’s campaign DG from the South-West region of the country.

The move was said to have followed the emergence of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who hails from the South-West geopolitical zone.

The South-West is being considered as the strongest base of the APC presidential standard-bearer.

It was further gathered that the rift between the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, is the major cause of the delay in inaugurating the presidential campaign council.

A chieftain of the main opposition party, who craved anonymity, said: “Usually, when running a presidential campaign, it is always good to pick a campaign manager from the region that your major opponent is from.

“When Buhari was running against Jonathan in 2015, he picked Amaechi as his campaign DG. Amaechi was from the Niger Delta just like Jonathan. Similarly, Jonathan picked Ahmadu Ali, who is from the North, as his campaign DG.

“So, the PDP is also considering the South-West for this strategic assignment. You know Atiku won Ondo and Oyo in 2019. Now, Osun is PDP territory as well,” PUNCH quoted the source as saying.

The PDP chieftain, who described Oyinlola as “a very experienced” politician, said he was more likely to emerge as the party’s campaign DG.

“He understands Lagos politics as well having served as military governor.

“Makinde will also be running for a tough governorship re-election and may be too busy to focus on Atiku’s campaign.

“Also, we are waiting for Wike’s input. Wike may probably prefer Makinde because they are close. But these are the two main options,” the source added.

Atiku, a former Vice-President, in May 2022, emerged as the PDP presidential candidate.

He defeated 12 other candidates, including Governor Wike in a keenly contested presidential primaries held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Of the 767 accredited ballots at the election, Atiku polled 371 votes, while his closest challenger, Wike, came second with 237 votes.

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, scored 70 votes to come a distant third, while Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, came fourth with 38 votes.

The former Vice-President also clinched the main opposition party’s presidential ticket in 2019 but lost at the general election to the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

The Star