Jonathan Is Buhari's De Facto Campaign Manager - S/East APC

The South East chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said the party’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has greater chances of winning the February election because of the alleged poor performance of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The spokesperson of the chapter, Osita Okechukwu, who stated this while addressing members in Enugu on Friday, said the president is the 'de facto campaign manager' of his APC counterpart since he has nothing to show to Nigeria what he did for them in the last four years.

Mr. Okechukwu explained that the election of Mr. Buhari, who he said had 60 per cent chance in the poll, had become imperative because Mr. Jonathan specifically failed woefully to provide welfare and security to Nigerian citizens, in spite of the unprecedented resources at his disposal.

"President Jonathan lacks neither the political will to stem corruption or to fight Boko Haram; that’s the GMB Appeal, even from unlikely quarters like South-South and South East," Mr. Okechukwu said.

"Nigerians want positive change. Can a president who failed to utilise good oil revenue regime, succeed under oil glut regime? No! No!! No!!!

"It is my candid view that our dear president wasted golden opportunity by failing woefully to fulfil the promises he made four years ago."

The spokesperson recounted that on May 13, 2010, Mr. Jonathan awarded $23 billion contract for the construction of three Greenfield Refineries in Bayelsa, Lagos and Kogi States, but that five years after the "money had grown wings and the refineries dead on arrival."

He listed the implications of the failure to install the refineries to include the squandering of over ₦2 trillion annually in the importation of refined petroleum products; devaluation of the naira and economic downturn; gross unemployment; the return of the country to debt trap; unprecedented oil theft; and posting of phantom economic growth in the midst of widespread poverty.

He said, "My brothers and sisters, you must agree with [me] that if Mr. President, a young man with PhD had performed; automatically Nigerians from all shades of opinion will not today be clamouring to vote for an old GMB for president, that’s why President Jonathan is his Campaign Chief."

Mr. Okechukwu thanked supporters from the South East for being the highest donors to the Buhari Support Fund, which has so far garnered over ₦54 million.

"I commend my people for being a critical chain in the Buhari-Bandwagon-Vehicle for Salvation, so that tomorrow nobody can marginalize Ndigbo," he said.