2023: APC will benefit from Buhari’s support base, says Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the party will benefit from the “support base” of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2023 elections.

Oshiomhole spoke on Wednesday in an interview with Channels Television.

In previous elections, Buhari had amassed a large number of votes with his huge political followership, especially in the northern part of the country.

However, there have been questions on if Buhari, whose tenure ends in 2023, will wield any significant influence for his party in the next general election.

Speaking on the chances of the APC, the former Edo governor said many people still respect Buhari.

“President Buhari is not eligible to re-contest and I believe APC will still benefit from his support base because those who believe in him still believe in him,” Oshiomhole said.

“The reasons they believe in him are still constant — that he is a honest man, a committed Nigerian who fought for the unity of the country, a man of few words, but he commands huge integrity.

“I don’t believe that those qualities have gone. I believe people still respect him a lot for those reasons.”

Speaking further, Oshiomhole said Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), does not have the same electoral value as Buhari.

“With all due respect to our elder statesman, Atiku Abubakar, he cannot dispute the fact that where Buhari stands electorally, he cannot speak. He has been tested and he failed,” he added.