- All is set for ex-VP’s defection to PDP
- We’ll stay with Buhari/Osinbajo – Adamawa APC
There are indications that the presidential ambition of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has divided the the All Progressives Congress in his Adamawa home state, especially with a recent declaration of support for Atiku’s ambition by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Minister of Women Affairs, Sen. Aishat Al-Hassan.
This has also set the tone for many to believe that the ex-VP is set to return to the Peoples Democratic Party, his former party, where he possibly hopes to realise his aspiration.
The minister is entitled to her opinion but I want to make it clear to her that there is no vacancy in the office of the Number One citizen of this country
A clear signal that Atiku may soon ditch the party is how his purported ambition has polarised the state Working Committee of the APC in Adamawa, as stalwarts of the party are currently at loggerheads. While a group is strongly in support of the Atiku presidential ambition, another group within the party kicks, declaring instead, their support for a Buhari/Osinbajo second term.
BUHARI’S GROUP LAMBASTS AL-HASSAN
Findings showed that some of the SWC members were angry with the pro-Atiku statement credited to the Taraba State-born Minister of Women Affairs, Al-Hassan, who said she would prefer Atiku to Buhari (his boss) as President, come 2019. Taraba is a neighbouring state to Adamawa.
A chieftain of the APC in the state and former Vice-Chairman of Maiha Local Government area, Hon. Yahya Hammajulde, described the minister’s statement as “the joke of the century.”
Hammajulde, who is the national coordinator of ‘Buhari/Osinbajo Again 2019’, said that Buhari would be pressured to go for a second term, “since he has never said he would not re-contest.”
He added, “Even if President Buhari is not going to re-contest, he may have somebody in mind that he wants us to rally round.”
Also, the Organising Secretary of the party in Adamawa, Alhaji Ahmed Lawal, who condemned the call by the minister, further described it as unfortunate, “that a serving minister could heat up the polity in such a flagrant manner, especially when the APC government is working hard to deliver campaign promises.” He said that the call came at a wrong time.
“The minister is entitled to her opinion but I want to make it clear to her that there is no vacancy in the office of the Number One citizen of this country. The President is doing well; for the first time, he has taken the nation out of recession.
“We that are supporters of Mr. President are hoping that he is going to contest for 2019. Anyone else that is hoping to take his place in 2019 is making a big mistake. Even if Buhari is not going to contest, we have the VP, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; he is a man of integrity and will be supported to continue with what Buhari is doing.
“Atiku and his supporters should wait till 2023. For 2019, it’s either Buhari or Osinbajo, because we believe that these are the two people that have the integrity and love of Nigerians in their hearts.
“Aisha is a minister in Buhari’s administration; she is not expected to start campaigning for any other candidate than her boss,” Lawal noted.
ATIKU’S MEN ‘SPIT FIRE’
On their part, members of the Atiku Support Group within the APC hold divergent views on the Al-Hassan’s stir.
In his reaction, the Director-General of the group, Hon. Mark Wosi, posited that President Buhari knew where the minister’s loyalty was before appointing her.
“The minister has spoken her mind; she has been a diehard supporter of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar before she was appointed a minister,” he remarked.
He questioned the rationale behind the call for the minister’s sack by some politicians. “Was there any agreement between the minister and the presidency before giving her the appointment, to the effect that she should drop her support for Atiku?” He asked.
Wosu thus called on people to stop crucifying the minister because she called on Atiku to contest in the 2019 presidential poll.
In the same vein, Adamawa’s Commissioner for Information, Hon. Ahmad Sajoh, said, “Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is a citizen of the country who has the right to contest for any office of his choice.
“We must be very realistic, politically; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has a right to contest politically for the presidency if that is his intention,” the commissioner stressed.
Meanwhile, Atiku had recently criticised the APC leadership for not holding regular meetings as prescribed by the party’s constitution.
Atiku aired his views in an interview with the Hausa service of the Voice of America.
“Honestly speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the processes, including campaigns, until success was achieved.
“But sadly, soon after the formation of government, I was sidelined. I have no relationship with the government; I’ve not been contacted even once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintain my distance. They used our money and influence to get to where they’re but three years down the lane, this is where we are,” Atiku lamented.
GOV BINDOW MAY DUMP ATIKU
Investigations by our correspondent has, however, revealed that Governor Jibrila Bindow may not give Atiku the necessary support.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Abba Jimeta, announced recently that the state government would back Buhari’s second time bid.
He made the disclosure during a rally organised by Yola North Youth in celebration of Buhari’s return to Nigeria, following his 103-day stay in London, on medical grounds.
A source in the Atiku camp, who confided in our correspondent, said that there was a grand plan by the Atiku loyalists in Governor Bindow’s administration to pull out of the government.
According to him, “since Bindow is not with our master, I can tell you authoritatively that five of his commissioners will quit the government soon.”
The source added that Atiku and his supporters would soon defect to the PDP to actualise his political ambition.
With this development, event watchers believe that the battle line has already been drawn between Atiku and Bindow, since the former VP may, in return, support another candidate against Bindow’s second term bid, come 2019.
‘LET’S NOT HEAT UP THE SYSTEM’
But the APC Vice-Chairman, Northern Zone, Muhammed Abdullahi, has called on the party’s supporters not to heat up the polity, pleading that they should help save the party from an imminent crisis.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Point, Abdullahi noted that 2019 was two years away and that it was too early for people to start talking about a presidential contest that had not got a party schedule as regards zoning, screening or primaries. He said that instead, all should focus on how elected officials would deliver dividends of democracy to the electorate, as this should ordinarily determine the chances of any party.
He said, “So, those people who are taking of 2019 now, in the first place, are trying to jump the gun; that is how we see it as a political party. We are encouraging all those elected under the APC to continue to deliver dividends of democracy as promised during the campaign and as contained in the Constitution and manifesto of the
APC.
“When you get to the river, you cross it; but when someone is talking of crossing the river without getting to its bank, then it becomes a crazy thing.”
