2019: Coalition of Forces, Not PDP Can Defeat Buhari, Okupe Insists

Accord Party National Leader and former presidential spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe, has said President Muhammadu Buhari can only be defeated

through coalition of forces in 2019, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can’t achieve the task alone.
He added that the defection of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku from All Progressives Congress(APC) was a big blow to the party and sign that the party may eventually crash in 2019.

Okupe described the Accord Party as a veritable third force that is blowing like a whirlwind across the South-west and the country at large, boasting that the party will win the 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State.

The former presidential aide said these in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during the election and inauguration of the party’s state executive and the official adoption of its governorship candidate, Akogun Banjo
Ojo for the Ekiti gubernatorial election.

At the event, 500 members of the PDP, APC and Labour Party defected to the party and were received by the State chairman of the party, Chief Abiola Odeoba and National Chairman, Mr. Lawa Nalado.
Okupe said the PDP and APC have disappointed Nigerians and the best way they can wriggle out of the present situation is to embrace the Accord Party.

“If you check properly, former Vice President Atiku has just left the APC now and this is a big blow. The PDP is virtually leaving an intensive care unit to the mortuary. APC is bleeding profusely . The two parties are in crisis, so no single party can defeat the president except a strong coalition.
“It took a coalition 1998 to be able to send away military. The coalition crystallised into PDP , won election and held it for 16 years.

“It took coalition of forces again in 2015 to be able to wrest power from the PDP and that is what Nigerians should do in 2019,” he advised.
He said Accord Party would go beyond Governor Ayodele Fayose’s stomach
infrastructure if voted into office in 2018.

“Stomach infrastructure alone can transform Ekiti. What the Accord Party will do is total infrastructure in the areas of industrialisation, health, education , youth employment and rural development.
“Ekiti had tasted both the APC and PDP and they knew they have disappointed badly, so time has come now to try another party, which is Accord in 2018.”

The governorship candidate of the party said the Accord Party would participate in the December 23 local government election to tests its strength in Ekiti.
Ojo said: “The Accord Party is less than three months and we are already making waves. What we intend to do is to sponsor youths and women for the council elections , so that they can turn around to develop their own towns.

“We are really concerned about how to boost the economy by setting up industries like rice mill in Igbemo Ekiti and flour mill in Ilawe, which produces the largest banana in Nigeria.
“We are also encouraging women through empowerment programme and this we are starting by fielding a woman as my deputy governorship candidate in 2018 to demonstrate our love for them.”