Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has stated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot afford to lose the 2023 presidential election.
Abubakar claimed that the opposition may crumble or go into political oblivion if it loses the forthcoming election to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking at the PDP Board of Trustees meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku expressed worry that the PDP will be in opposition again for the next eight years if it loses the 2023 poll.
Abubakar stated that the upcoming election is very crucial for the party, stressing that he, alongside the BoT members, would have been retired politically, should another party win the election.
He said, “I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years.
“By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.
Ordinary, people naturally gravitate towards the government. So this is a very crucial and historical moment in history for our survival, I want you to think about it. We are now at a crucial moment in this country. For many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together.”
While commending the performance of the party in the 2019 election, Atiku said the PDP can do better in 2023 if members work in unity.
He said: “Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes. In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes.”
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