…as he prepares to tackle Buhari
- He’s welcome – OBJ’s aide
- That’s PDP’s business, says Odigie-Oyegun
- We’ll support opposition candidate to oust Buhari in 2019, Afenifere, others declare
- Former VP has the experience – Bucknor-Akerele
One of the biggest battles in the political history of Nigeria is about to begin in earnest as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party in the country, the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, embarks on what may be his last ‘gamble’ to wrestle power from the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress and incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, in the 2019 general elections.
Seventy-five-year-old former vice president, Abubakar, who has been eyeing the number one position in the country since 1993, however, seems to have a final hurdle to cross in achieving his ambition, despite his emergence as the standard bearer of the PDP from the party’s national convention/presidential primary last weekend in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, where he was nominated ahead of the 11 other contestants to fly the party’s flag in the 2019 presidential election.
Abubakar won the PDP presidential primary by polling a total of 1, 532 votes ahead of the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who came second with 693 votes.
Investigations by The Point, however, revealed that Abubakar might have begun fresh moves to cross the final hurdle in realising his dream by getting the endorsement of his former boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had allegedly vowed that he would never allow Atiku to become the president of Nigeria.
It was learnt that Atiku set up the new machinery to reach out to Obasanjo afresh in the run-up to last weekend’s PDP presidential primary, where he emerged the party’s standard bearer in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.
Obasanjo had in the recent past reportedly spurned various moves made earlier by either Atiku himself or his emissaries to placate him and secure his support for his presidential bid.
Our correspondents, however, reliably gathered that Abubakar had already intensified the fresh underground work to finally woo Obasanjo to his side even as his (Atiku) foot soldiers are said to be at work already to soften the ground for their principal before his former boss.
Indications to this fresh subtle moves being made by Atiku to woo his former boss to his side were further underscored shortly after he was declared the PDP presidential candidate on Sunday, as he paid a glowing tribute to Obasanjo in his acceptance speech at the Port Harcourt, Rivers State venue of the presidential primary election.
Abubakar had said, “I wouldn’t have been standing here today if my former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, had not made me his vice president.
“Under his tutelage, I learned quite a lot and I believe the experience I got is going to definitely impact how eventually we govern this country, which pays my personal tribute to him.”
Also, in a chat with our correspondent on Sunday, former presidential aide, Akin Osuntokun, alluded to the need for Obasanjo’s support for Abubakar to realise his goal.
“First of all, I want to congratulate him. The only reservation I have about his candidacy is the relationship between him and Obasanjo. But he managed to show a lot of humanity. He paid tribute to Obasanjo in his acceptance speech. I am touched. He is the strongest aspirant among the lot. He has been VP for eight years. He is a threat to Buhari, he is a strong candidate,” Osuntokun told The Point.
Speaking further on the issue, Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, also succinctly told our correspondent, “Did you listen to his acceptance speech? You should be able to take something out of it. I don’t need to stress myself. I’m just trying to take a rest from the rigours of the last 48 hours. You are talking about Obasanjo right? Look at that speech (Atiku’s), it will help on the matter.”
Efforts to reach Obasanjo proved abortive as at the time of filing this report on Sunday as his spokesman, Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi, declined to comment on the matter, saying, “But they (Atiku’s men) are welcome.”
This is as the immediate past chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, told our correspondent that whatever moves Abubakar was making was PDP’s business, saying President Muhammadu Buhari still stood a better chance of coming back in 2019, despite the emergence of former Vice President Abubarka as the main opposition party’s flagbearer. He added that though APC had erred in the past, the party remained the best option on Nigeria’s political landscape.
“Well, that is PDP’s business. At this stage, I don’t want to say anything on this political issue. In a little while, I will issue a press statement. But I want to tell you that despite Atiku’s emergence, I have no doubt about APC’s victory in 2019. Though we have issues, we have made mistakes, there is no question about it, even at that, we are still the best game in the politics. By far, our candidate is good and he has a better advantage over the opposition in the coming election in 2019,” Oyegun said.
But more reactions have been trailing his emergence as observers of the development, who spoke with our correspondents from different parts of the country, were unanimous in their views that the real battle might just be here at last as Atiku takes on his arch political rival, Buhari, in what they say might be his (Atiku’s) final gamble.
This comes as both leaders appear to have a date with history, having received the nod of their respective parties same weekend, though at different venues, and would have to slug it out for the most coveted position in Nigeria same day during the 2019 presidential election.
Atiku has the experience – Bucknor-Akerele
A former deputy governor of Lagos State, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, described the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku , as an experienced politician and administrator, saying she was highly delighted at his emergence as the PDP presidential candidate.
She said, “He is a very experienced politician and administrator. He was two term vice president and a very experienced politician. The country needs his experience at this crucial time.
“I am highly delighted at his emergence as our presidential candidate. He has all it takes to win the next year’s election. I am also happy that he emerged through a credible primary.”
Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, said it would give Atiku full backing to oust Buhari in the 2019 presidential race.
One of the leaders of the group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, told our correspondent that Atiku would bring back the unity of Nigeria, which had been lost under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
He said, “With the cooperation of other aspirants and support from progressive Nigerians, Buhari is gone. Nigerians have gone through hell under Buhari; Atiku is the answer.
“Atiku will run an inclusive government that will benefit Yoruba people. Yoruba have not benefited anything under Buhari. What have we got from him? Is it because they gave us VP? What has the VP brought us? All that they did was to give slots to Tinubu and others. They got ministerial slots for their pocket. What have they done for the Yoruba masses? Yoruba need a new referendum and Atiku will give us that, if we give him good support. And let me tell you, Atiku will have the support of the Yoruba people. Afenifere is fully in support of anybody that will take Buhari out of this government for us. And we believe Atiku is up to the task.”
APC, INEC need to learn from PDP- Ologbondiyan
Akerele – Bucknor’s views was also shared by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, who described the presidential primary election that produced Atiku as the opposition PDP’s flagbearer, as the most transparent and credible primary in the country.
He called on INEC and the ruling APC to learn how to conduct elections from the PDP. He also commended all other aspirants for accepting the outcome of the process.
Ologbondiyan told our correspondent, “APC and INEC need to learn how to conduct peaceful, free, fair election. The transparency and credibility of the election, which made all other aspirants to accept the results is a way election should go.
“We have consistently promised a free, fair and transparent election and we have delivered one. That is how elections should be. That was how elections were being conducted when we were born. We should stop all these rigging in elections.
“The candidate that emerged came from a transparent election has what it takes to run this country, having been vice president for eight years.”
PDP 2018 convention best ever – Melaye
On his part, the Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, described the PDP convention as the best ever conducted by any political party since 1999.
“I am very impressed with what we have seen. The process was transparent and the environment was serene, peaceful. It is a sample of what PDP will give Nigerians. The accreditation was no longer what it used to be. The counting again of delegates on queue to juxtapose with the number of accredited delegates made the election very transparent. There was also a very fantastic improvement on the ballot sheets with pictures of aspirants clearly displayed. That was a very wonderful innovation. The pattern of voting was not known since all delegates used only 10 ballot boxes, it is difficult to know how a state voted.”
Few hours after the emergence of Abubakar as PDP Presidential flag bearer, the people of Zamfara State have been reacting to this new development.
Speaking to The Point on Sunday, a prominent PDP stalwart in Zamfara State, Alhaji Abu Zahara, described Atiku’s victory as a great blessing to PDP, considering his political career.
Zahara maintained that with Abubakar as PDP Presidential candidate, the party would stand a better chance to win next year’s presidential election.
“Alhaji Atiku is a committed and dedicated politician. He has all it takes to effectively give President Buhari a good fight in the 2019 elections; as such, we, PDP members are very happy that he emerged as our party’s flagbearer, ” he said.
Also speaking, a PDP women leader in Zamfara, Hajiya Aisha Maradun, said Atiku’s victory was a signal to the end of President Muhammad Buhari’s administration, adding that the former vice president was more popular than Buhari as far as politics is concerned.
According to her, “Atiku has supporters from all the states of the federation; he is a philanthropist and good administrator, who would take the country to greater heights, if voted into power in the next general elections.”
But an APC supporter in Zamfara, Alhaji Garba Mohammed, said he was not happy that Atiku was given the PDP presidential ticket, saying, “Atiku is the only strong candidate, who can fight Buhari in the 2019 elections”.
He stressed that with the emergence of Atiku as the PDP candidate, APC supporters must work very hard to make sure that Buhari’s second term in office became a reality.
How South South’s delegates voted
Investigations by The Point, however, revealed that the states of the South South, including Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers, had rallied support for Tambuwal as his admirers in the zone saw him as the man to beat among the 12 contestants .
One of the state coordinators for the Sokoto State governor, and a media practitioner, Don Ofure, told our correspondent on Friday night from Port Harcourt that Tambuwal’s entrance into the race changed the political equation as regards who will fly the PDP flag in 2019 to ‘’Tambuwal vs x’, where x stands for the other combatants in the party primaries.”
He said Tambuwal was the most credible and the best among all the contestants for the task of rescuing Nigeria in 2019.
Ofure said, “Abubakar Atiku, a former Vice President for eight years is in the race. He has been seeking a presidential ticket since 1993. There is a serving governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwaanbo, and Alhaji Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State and former foreign affairs minister.
“There is Senate President, Abubakar Saraki, who, like his father, hopes to be Nigeria’s first civilian President from Middle Belt and the Mr. Taminu Turaki, a lawyer and former minister in charge of special duties. So also are Senators David Mark, Datti Ahmed and Ahmed Markafi. Markafi, it was, who is credited with rescuing the party from the brink and the hands of those who were commissioned to sink it a few months ago.
“The question is: which of these aspirants, who have offered themselves for this service can really do the job of flying the party’s flag? Who can rescue Nigeria from the charade of change inflicted on it since 2015?
“Who can PDP trust to send on this very difficult journey to rescue Nigeria, to restore power to Nigerians and restore the hope of the people in good governance? Who can get
the results?”
Delegates at the Port Harcourt convention were on Friday night busy at their various hotels visited by one of our correspondents as a source told The Point that “The meetings were to discuss areas of interest and how to win votes from the geopolitical zones.”
This is as Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State said that all the delegates from the state would adopt a common position on the party’s presidential primary.
In a statement on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, the governor noted that delegates from the state and the entire Ijaw nation would vote for a candidate with enough courage and capacity to restructure the country and one who would promote mutual respect for all Nigerians as well as create a level playing field for all, irrespective of ethnic and religious leanings.
Also, investigations revealed that delegates from Rivers State were divided between Saraki and
Tambuwal.
