2019 Election: It is between Saraki and Buhari — Doyin Okupe says

A chieftain of Accord Party and former presidential spokesperson, Dr Doyin Okupe, has projected that the 2019 presidential election would be...

A chieftain of Accord Party and former presidential spokesperson, Dr Doyin Okupe, has projected that the 2019 presidential election would be a battle between Senate President Bukola Saraki and President Muhammadu Buhari.


Okupe was analysing the defection of some National Assembly members from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Channels Television Politics Today, on Friday.

Asked to explain his projection, Okupe said, “If Saraki is wise, the best thing for him to do would be to contest 2019 presidential election, because, as it stands in Nigeria presently, Saraki is becoming the most important political figure outside the Presidency. “And from what I am seeing, the battle for the presidency in 2019 is between Saraki and Buhari.”

Okupe had while speaking on Channels Television Sunrise Daily, recently,advised the Senate President to leverage on his increasing popularity to contest the 2019 presidential election. 

On the wave of defection that has hit the ruling APC, the former presidential spokesperson noted that it had become inevitable for Saraki to leave the APC, saying “How can you remain in a party where you have been constantly disgraced, humiliated over the years? After stripping you naked they are now trying to cover you up with a piece of cloth at the dying minute when they saw you have grown to become a threat to their survival. It will be unwise for him to remain in the APC if he truly wishes himself well.”

Discarding the insinuation that the Senate President could lose his seat if he was sacked from the APC or he decided to leave the party, Okupe said: “A sack from a political party does not invalidate Saraki’s election as a member of the Senate and the Senate President, don’t forget that Senator Buruji Kashamu has just been expelled from the PDP and he remains in the Senate. If the APC decides to sack Saraki from the party, he cannot lose his seat as the President of the Senate.”