Buhari, a gamble not worth taking by Nigerians -Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

Ahead of the Saturday’s presidential elections, President Goodluck Jonathan has described his main contender, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress as a gamble that is not worth taking by Nigerians.

He said he did not think that Nigerians will make the mistake of electing Buhari who he said is not the right option for the country at this time.

Jonathan said this in an interview he granted an online news medium, TheCable. The interview was published on Thursday.

The President said although he could not claim to be perfect, majority of Nigerians would still prefer him above Buhari.

He said, “I don’t think Nigerians will make the mistake of voting for Buhari.

“Gen. Buhari, with due respect, is not the right option for Nigeria at this time. It is a gamble that is not worth taking.

“I may not be perfect as nobody is perfect. But I believe that come Saturday, the majority of Nigerian voters will choose me as the best candidate to lead the nation forward.”

Jonathan also said the APC is being overrated in the way the party is being presented ahead of the elections.

He said the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party would test their true strength on Saturday.

“You should remember the Ekiti governorship election last year. Before the election, many people were saying APC would win by a landslide. But we in the PDP were busy mobilising the grassroots, going from village to village, from town to town.

“The result shocked everybody, apart from us at the PDP. I am not underrating APC, but I think they are grossly overrated.

“We shall meet on the field. That is where we will test our true strengths. We are fully ready. You will soon see,” the President boasted.

Jonathan said Lagos State remained the real battleground between the two parties in the South West, saying he does not see the APC winning Oyo and Ogun States.

He added that recent development had shown him that the PDP is taking a new shape in Lagos State.

The President said, “Ekiti and Ondo are already controlled by PDP. I don’t see APC winning Oyo and Ogun.

“And from the last governorship election in Osun, you could see that the gap between PDP and APC was very narrow, judging from the figures.

“Other factors will still be at play and the best you can say for now is that Osun is a tossed-up state, as Americans call it.

“The real battleground is Lagos, and if you have been following events closely, the PDP is reborn in Lagos. Wait and see how Lagosians will vote.”

The President said the choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate would not make any significance difference in the zone because like the former military leader, he has never won an election before.

He said the APC has a pairing that could not be described as a winning team because Osinbajo had never been a candidate before.

“You cannot call Osinbajo a political heavyweight in the South West. The Yoruba are more sophisticated than that. In 2011, two of my opponents fielded their running mates from the South West. Still, the South West decided to vote for me. That tells you a lot about the voters in the South West. They cannot be hoodwinked,” he added.

He expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious in at least 24 states.

He said the PDP currently controls 21 states while APC has only 14.

Of APC’s 14, Jonathan said Imo and Rivers were only APC in the sense that their governors defected, saying their people know where their interests are better served.

He added that when it comes to presidential election, Edo State belongs to the PDP.

“So essentially, of the 14 APC-controlled states, only 11 can be described as APC.

“Of course, I know that not all the PDP-controlled states usually vote PDP in presidential elections, so you have to concede that one or two PDP states will vote APC in the presidential election.

“At the end of the day, you are still looking at 23 or 24 pro-PDP states, including Anambra which is controlled by APGA,” Jonathan explained.