I’ll Not Dump PDP, If… – Atiku

Former Vice President and a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku says he will remain in PDP whether he fails to secure the Presidential ticket come January 13 at the party’s national convention.

Atiku who bared his mind while fielding questions from journalists in Port Harcourt after meeting with Rivers State party executive and delegates said he returned to the PDP for good and will remain in the party to work for its democratic stability.

In 2007, Atiku who was Olusegun Obasanjo’s deputy dumped PDP for Action Congress (AC) which metamorphosed into Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) where he contested the 2007 presidential election and lost to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (of blessed memory).

Though, losing to Yar’Adua was painful, Atiku felt he could get his political ambitions achieved with those he considered progressive associates in ACN. But that romance lasted about three years before he lost confidence in ACN, a party he so eulogized. It was therefore, not surprising that he dumped ACN and returned to his original party, PDP, to find a place for his ambition.

But while in Port Harcourt to seek for support in his presidential ambition, Aiku told journalists that he is not over ambitious of becoming Nigeria’s President, explaining that he has sacrificed his ambitions on three different occasion for democratic stability and unity of the country.

He noted that in 1993 he supported late Chief M. K. O. Abiola for the presidency that was ill-fated. According to him, he took his presidential nomination form to Chief Obasanjo at his farm. When most of the governors in 2003 wanted him to contest in 2003, Atiku said he ignored them and supported Obasanjo to complete his second tenure in office.

He maintained that he has high respect for the rule of law, adding that “we had the opportunity in 2003 to say no to Chief Obasanjo, but we decided for the sake of national unity to let the power remain in the south.”

“Most of the governors then have not forgiven me even since I have been in politics for the past 21 years and had made several sacrifices for the unity and stability of the country,” Atiku declared.

On the current spate of insecurity in the country, Atiku blamed it on a number of socio-economic problems including high level of youth unemployment and lack of equality and fairness in governance resulting to violence.

He said that poverty and ignorance are critical issues government must confront and tackle to be able to secure a peaceful and stable nation.

Atiku was clear on his purpose to Rivers State. According to him, “I have not come to Rivers State to ask your son to step down for me but I have come to ask for a fair contest and the support of the delegates.”

On zoning, Atiku explained that the PDP agreed in November 2002 for a continuous power rotation or shift between the north and south.

To further advance his standard for an unbroken eight year presidency of any North-South divide, the former Vice President said PDP at its last meeting agreed that the North and South zones should have an eight-year presidency, each.

“I am pleading that the North should complete its remaining four-year term,” Atiku passionately told the Rivers PDP delegates.

Kin Banigo