Atiku Abubakar, PDP’S presidential candidate 2023
Ex senator says Obi, Ayu is to blame for Atiku’s loss. Former Senator from Edo South District, Matthew Urhoghide, has blamed the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the February 25 election on infighting between the PDP’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and the G-5 governors, as well as the unexpected exit of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, from the party.
Urhoghide, who just left the PDP, made the remarks on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday night.
“The election was set up for Atiku to win so convincingly that even the APC admitted it.” Former President Muhammadu Buhari also recognized that the PDP’s divide was to blame for our defeat.
“That’s also what Adams Oshimhole was referring to when he appeared on your platform,” he bemoaned.
His sorrow comes four months after incumbent President Bola Tinubu was declared the victor of the presidential election.
The former Lagos governor received 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku, who received 6,984,520 votes, and Obi, who received 6,101,533 votes.
However, the senator believes that if the PDP presented a united front, the results could have been different.
“It is a reliable school of thought.” Obi should have been allowed to remain a member of the PDP. We could have repeated what happened in 2019 if that had occurred. That’s because the vote he received, whether due to popularity or whatever occurred to him in the PDP that caused him to depart, would have aided in attracting votes.
“Permit me to add this. Even if the governors (G-5) were excessive in their activities requesting that the party’s National Chairman step down, we all know why: they felt unhappy that they were not chosen as the party’s presidential candidate. But, at the at least, we could have prevented any resentment that would have resulted from the decision to select someone else.
“The only thing the chairman should have done was say, ‘If it takes me stepping aside for the party to win, why not?'” I’m not sure what convinced Senator Iyorchia Ayu to stay. But knowing who he is and what he stands for, he is a gentleman. If I were Ayu, I would have resigned. The party’s priority was to win the election. Everything will come together. That is also what happened in my state, Edo, where the PDP finished third,” he lamented.