Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has said the umbrella party must work on the psychology of voters in the northern part of the country to stand any chance of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 poll.
Makarfi said Buhari, who is expected to be the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, still commands a strong following in the North, which has highest number of voters.
The presidential hopeful stressed that the PDP must field very strong candidate to stand a chance of breaking Buhari’s followership in the north.
Makarfi spoke during the weekend when he visited Ekiti PDP delegates led by Deputy Governor, Prof Kolapo Olusola, at Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado-Ekiti, in continuation of consultations on his presidential ambition ahead of the party’s national convention.
He contended that he is eminently qualified for the office of the President having served as Governor of Kaduna State for eight years, Senator for another eight years where he chaired the Committee on Finance and PDP National Caretaker Chairman.
The former Kaduna governor promised to tackle insurgency, herdsmen killings, insecurity, unemployment, epileptic power supply, infrastructural challenges and other problems confronting the polity.
Makarfi said: “If we want to the election, we must not lose the North and we should give them the candidate they trust in the North.
“The problem for us winning is the North; the current President comes from there and there is blind followership there. If we want to win, we should field a strong candidate from there.
“We must work on the psychology of the Buhari’s sentimental followers in the North and change their mind towards us.”