Festus Keyamo
The spokesperson of the campaign organization for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has said two more All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors might leave the party soon.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the defections from the ruling party at the National assembly and Benue state, will not affect the chances of Buhari in 2019.
Keyamo stated that, “The latest defections by some national assembly members and the governor of Benue state WILL NOT harm the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. This would even be so if the much-rumoured two more governors also defect from the APC.
“The president won with large margins in the past in some states without the support of majority of the politicians from those states who moved recently to join the opposition party. Also, we are all witnessing the significant gains Mr President is making in several places where he lost in the past, notably in the south-south and south-east.
“From the demographics we have now, the historic figures and the present realities that we know, these defections will have little or no impact on the chances of Mr. President’s re-election.
“The following 12 States, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Niger, with over 30 million registered voters, are States the President had consistently won with considerable large margins in past elections, especially in 2011 and 2015. This was achieved despite the fact that most of those States were being controlled by political parties other than his own.
“As we can see, any defection within these States would have little or no consequence on President Muhammadu Buhari’s chances as he had always won those States, irrespective of the Party in power in those States.”