The lawmaker representing Niger North Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has declared the President Muhammadu Buhari has no opposition in the 2019 presidential election.
Abdullahi, who is the spokesman of the Senate, said it will be easier for President Buhari to defeat Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, than people imagine.
The lawmaker told The Sun that the crisis in APC will not affect the chances of candidates, especially the re-election of President Buhari.
He said, “In every system, crisis is bound to happen. The crisis here is the problem of an existing equilibrium being tilted in one way or the other by actors within the same system.
“Every system is bound to experience that. To my mind, as bad as the crisis looks like, I don’t harbour those fears.
“The chances of the crisis affecting the party are there. But the party will grind towards the election with more conviction and collectivity than when this crisis started.
“A reconciliation committee has been put in place. Again, when you hear about these things, there is nothing to worry about. That is how a system operates.
“Overall, I think that considering the fact that we are in the same boat, it will be in our collective interest to save it from sinking.
Speaking on the possibility of the crisis affecting the re-election chances of Buhari, Abdullahi said, “No, it will not. The president has a very high chance. If you look at the states where there are crises, the president is isolated. It’s either about governorship primaries, House of Assembly or others.
“To my mind, it will not affect the president. If anything, it gives the president a high chance more than the way people are looking at it.
“As far as I am concerned, President Buhari has no opposition in 2019. It will be far more easier for President Buhari to defeat Atiku than most people are anticipating.
“I don’t see any serious challenge here. Definitely, Mr President will win his re-election in 2019. I can bet my life on it.”