By Chinelo Obogo

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Kassim Afegbua, has described the presidential declaration of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, as an act of desperation.

In a statement, Afegbua said PDP leadership had set today for the inauguration of the zoning committee but that instead of waiting for the outcome of the zoning committee to decide on zoning, Atiku hurriedly bought the nomination form and formally declared his intention to run. He said he is opposed to Atiku’s ambition to be president on the platform of the PDP because, according to him, the former vice president ought to have led peaceful protests condemning the poor state of affairs in the country but failed to lead the opposition.

“Atiku ought to have mobilised and sensitised Nigerians against the misrule of the All Progressives Congress, instead of just waiting to throw his hat in the ring for methuselah contest in 2023.

“His declaration today (yesterday), to state the obvious, is an act of political desperation. The PDP leadership has set today for the inauguration of the zoning committee. Instead of waiting for the outcome of the zoning committee, he hurriedly bought the nomination form and formally declared his intention to run.

“Ask yourselves, have you heard his voice since 2019 against the mis-governance of the APC? Did you see him play the role of opposition? Did you see him visit Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna to share in their aspirations and reassure the people at times of crises and killings? Must it be all about your selfish aspirations and ambition?

“If we had a true opposition figure in the person of Atiku, a former vice president, PDP’s candidate in the 2019 presidential contest, it would have been expected that he would, in all these years of decimation and destruction,  engage the ruling party, rather he ran away to Dubai to await the next auspicious opportunity to play again,” Afegbua said.