August 21, (THEWILL) – With less than six weeks to the commencement of campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, three major political parties, the All ProgressivesCongress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have intensified their preparation and appointed key officers to their respective campaign organisations.
The three parties have been active in the media. In what looks like a dress rehearsal of what to expect when the window for campaign opens in September, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi and his numerous supporters – the OBidients – have been quite active on social media.
Obi, the APC Candidate, Bola Tinubu and the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar have also been paying visits to key political power brokers in the country.
Tinubu visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta last week, while Obi also received a heroic welcome penultimate week when he for the first time attended the Holy Ghost Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at its camp on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the campaign for the presidential and National Assembly elections would commence on September 28, 2022, while that of governorship and State House of Assembly will commence on October 12, 2022.
According to the time table released by the electoral umpire, the last day of campaigning by political parties for the presidential and National Assembly elections is at midnight of February 23, 2023, while that of governorship and State Assembly is at midnight of March 9, 2023.
The APC has begun the preparation for its campaign as it has appointed the Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State as Director-General of the party’s campaign organisation, while its immediate past National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has been officially announced as the Deputy Director-General.
The party retained Festus Keyamo as the Director of Publicity of the campaign organisation. Keyamo occupied the same position in 2019 as the spokesperson of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation during the campaign for the second term of the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari.
APC has said it will be honest and open to a robust engagement in its campaign for the 2023 polls, instead of mere propaganda.
Speaking through the National Vice Chairman (North-west) of the party, Mallam Salihu Lukman, the party also described its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as more trustworthy than other major presidential candidates of the opposition parties.
Lukman said the APC intended to campaign and convince Nigerians to vote its presidential candidate in 2023.
He said, “Life is about challenges. Those challenges exist, no doubt about it. But I think my response to it is that we will be honest, and we will open ourselves to engagement because democracy is a two-thing.
“Many of the deceptive propaganda being sponsored by the opposition against APC is that the solution to the problem lies outside APC. Let nobody be deceived that APC is the problem. Yes, there are challenges that we are facing today which emerged while APC is in government. My pride is that our leaders are not in denial of those challenges unlike in the past. If you look at candidates of other parties, they are not coming up with recommendations, they are coming up with propaganda to shoot down APC and Nigerians should be smarter than that.”
The former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said that Tinubu was not an “election merchant,” unlike the candidates of other opposition parties, just as he said the APC was ready to debate some of the issues with opposition parties when the 2023 campaigns begin.
He said that for the APC to win in 2023, the party must review and look at what it promised Nigerians between 2015 and 2019, as well as the gaps that exist and what needs to be done in order to address the gaps.
According to him, APC will prepare the campaign in such a way that there will be solutions to the challenges which Nigerians can see and can commit themselves to.
He noted, “I raised the point of the APC presidential candidate not being on the ballot since 2003 on a positive note so as to demonstrate that he is not one of those I called election merchants.
The party’s presidential campaign spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, has also assured Nigerians that the ruling party would be committed to issue-based campaigns for the 2023 presidential election.
This is as he clarified that despite tactics from opposition parties, the APC will stick to issues and run a clean campaign for next year’s election.
Keyamo, who is also the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, gave the assurance on his Twitter page in response to statements of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organization’s spokesperson, Dino Melaye, during a recent interview.
The minister said the APC would refrain from calling opposition parties and their presidential candidates’ names, adding that an abusive campaign was a “sign of frustration”.
He wrote, “We’ll run a clean campaign. We’ll not use abusive words on our opponents and their spokespersons. We’ll refrain from calling those who Nigerians think and say they look stupid with their gaffs as such.
“Abuses on a campaign trail are a sign of frustration. We will stick to the issues.”
The Tinubu Campaign Organization through its Director of Media and Communications, Bayo Onanuga had urged Peter Obi of the Labour Party to caution his supporters and allow the election circle to be about issues that will advance the growth, progress and stability of Nigeria.
He also admonished Obi to get his supporters to desist from spreading lies, malice and denigrating other candidates, especially Tinubu, saying fake news will not win the election in 2023.
The Peoplformer Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s plan for the campaign is being halted by the current face-off between him and the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Wike feels aggrieved for not being chosen as the vice presidential candidate to Atiku. Atiku, despite the confidence of Wike to pick the VP slot, decided to appoint the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.
But, in spite of the crisis, Atiku has appointed Senator Dino Melaye and Dr. Daniel Bwala as the campaign spokespersons. Bwala, a former APC chieftain joined the PDP recently. Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, announced the appointments.
Melaye is a politician and a member of the 8th Senate, who represented Kogi West Senatorial district. He hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
“Bwala, on the other hand, is a legal practitioner, politician and public affairs analyst. He hails from Borno State.”
Ahead of the commencement of the 2023 campaign, Atiku Abubakar has also appointed three additional aides to his media team. They are Eta Uso, Abdulrashhed Shehu and Demola Olanrewaju.
The statement announcing their appointment partly read, “Uso, an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a UK-trained Advanced Computing and Internet systems expert from the University of Wales, Bangor, is appointed as Special Assistant Digital Media.
Atiku campaign strategy
While urging PDP chieftains and members to firm up mobilisation at the grassroots, Atiku said the party’s campaign strategy will be polling unit-based, in line with the new electoral process.
“As you know, our current electoral process is divided i
nto the polling units. We don’t want you in Abuja. We don’t want you even in your state; we want you in your polling booths. Go and deliver it to us. Protect the votes and deliver it to us there,” he said.
The ‘Operation Rescue Nigeria’ project, according to the PDP, is a strategy the party hopes to use to mobilise support for next year’s elections.
Obi Warns opposition against Fake News, Misrepresentation
As the official kick- off of the 2023 election campaign approaches, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi has said that some opposition parties have adopted negative trends, fake news and misinformation.
Obi made this allegation in a statement, via his Twitter handle. He said all parties in the election next year should have at the back of their minds that the campaign must be issue-based.
Obi who has commenced preparation for the open campaign by creating awareness through lectures and symposiums, is targeting the lifting of an open campaign by the INEC in September to start aggressive campaigns.
His supporters are mainly active online for now.
Obi said, “As we approach the official kick off of the 2023 election campaign, it has become evident that the opposition has adopted a negative strategy of trolling and insinuating fake news and misinformation in the social media space.
He lamented that the Labour Party presidential candidate and the party’s supporters are being blamed for the negativity and fake news spreading on social media.
Obi, however, said they will remain resolute in their commitment to an issue-based and clean campaign.
“We will also rebuff all such ploys of deceit and calumny meant to create disaffection among Nigeria’s voting population, who desire credible leadership change”, Obi said.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
