Using religious sentiments to get votes won’t work, says PDP youth leader

Mohammed Suleiman, national youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says promoting religious sentiments to win the 2023 presidential election will not work.

Suleiman said this on Saturday in an interview with journalists after inaugurating the north-west zonal chapter of the ‘Atiku United Front’ in Kaduna.

The group is canvassing support for Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP.

Suleiman said Nigerians, especially, in  the north-west zone, have suffered under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and would not be swayed by religious sentiments.

“Those using religious sentiments to get votes, this time around, it will not work because everything has changed,” he said.

“APC promised to provide security, good education and so many other things, but they have failed in protecting the lives and property of people.

“Nigerians are looking for somebody who is competent, somebody with the capacity to unite and address the problems facing the country.”

The youth leader also dismissed the recent prediction by Fitch that Tinubu will win the 2023 presidential election, describing it as “a mere prediction from APC”.

He added that the north-west zone has the highest voting population, and that the zone will support the PDP.

“The APC has nothing to offer Nigerians. We will give the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, massive votes. The PDP is the only hope of the people,” he said.

“There is no way Tinubu will win this election. He has no base here (north-west).

“Tinubu is a regional dictator. We need somebody who will unite this country. We need somebody who has political base across the country.

“Those who are comparing Tinubu with the late MKO Abiola (presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election), to me, they are committing political sin.

“If you go to Zaria, there is a house called ‘Abiola house’. Tinubu is just mingling and interacting with people that are occupying political positions.

“He has no base at the grassroots. Nobody knows him at the grassroots, but Atiku is a household name at the grassroots, not only in the north, but across the country.”