Panic in PDP, Presidency over Osinbajo

With the choice of frontline lawyer-pastor Yemi Osinbajo as All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chiefs have returned to the drawing board.

The PDP and the Presidency are said to be jittery over the choice of the professor of Law and former Attorney-General and Commissioner for justice, Lagos State.

According to the Nation newspaper, The ruling party, had been building its campaign against the APC on the following pillars:

•If the APC goes for a Moslem-Moslem ticket, it (the PDP) will brand the opposition party as insensitive to Nigeria’s glaring religious divides; and

•A Southwest candidate will make it difficult for the PDP to win the zone’s sympathy. Now the APC has picked a son in-law of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who is revered even beyond the zone.

Osinbajo’s “impeccable” personality has dismantled every plan to launch an attack on the person of the APC presidential running mate, it was said.

The ruling PDP had plotted to latch on religious factor to win the sympathy of Nigerians during the campaign for 2015 presidency.

There were strong indications yesterday that the PDP has returned to the drawing board on how to curtail the growing support base for APC.

According to sources, PDP leaders were shocked that APC chose a running mate without rancour.

It was learnt that PDP had expected a slip from APC in order to make a campaign gain from it.

It was gathered that some “attack dogs” had already been positioned to launch vexatious propaganda against the opposition on its running mate.

There have been consultations between the Presidency and the PDP leadership since Osinbajo was named.

A top source said: “There was gloom in PDP on Wednesday, following the announcement of Osinbajo. The calculation was that APC will be plunged into a crisis on the choice of its running mate, but that was not the case.

“The PDP had been looking for a slight mistake to brand APC a religious party after it could not sustain the bigot stigma on Gen. Buhari.

“Some attack dogs were on standby to hit the APC. All the plans have now failed.

Another source said: “By picking Osinbajo, the chances of PDP in the South-West have become slimmer because the party had wanted to take advantage of the  political dynasty of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo to make an inroad into the region.

“The Presidency had tried to accommodate the grand son of the late sage, Mr. Segun Awolowo by making him the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council(NEPC).

“But APC has also made the late Awolowo’s son-in-law as its vice-presidential candidate putting paid to any scheming by the PDP in the Southwest.”

A third source said: “With the emergence of Osinbajo , the PDP has returned to the drawing board.

“The ruling party is now left to base its campaign on issues than sentiments.”

Contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the party could not lose sleep over Osinbajo.

Metuh, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “Who is Osinbajo? He was an ordinary commissioner and we have hundreds of commissioners in the country. The APC vice- presidential candidate is an unknown individual in politics. He is not a threat to PDP.

“One thing I know is that if it comes to issues and performance we will win the 2015 presidential election but if it comes to throwing anarchy or chaos, the APC will have upper hand.”

Parties were rushing to beat the deadline for the submission of list of presidential candidates and those contesting for seats in the National Assembly.