Atiku Offers Alternative to PDP Governors, Says Support Me 25 Mar 2013 Font Size: a / A 0611F03.Atiku-Abubakar.jpg - 0611F03.Atiku-Abubakar.jpg Atiku Abubakar May contest presidential election on APA ticket By Chuks Okocha As the 2015 presidential election draws near, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has opened up consultations with eminent stakeholders, including 11 governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as the Northern Elders group to decide whether to contest the presidential election on the platform of his party or seek another party to realise his dream. THISDAY reliably learnt that the former vice-president has also met with a group of intellectuals to advise him on the viability of him contesting the 2015 presidential election. According to a source close to the former vice-president, the 11 PDP governors who are feeling disenchanted with the ruling party and are eager to defect to another party, had initially met the former vice-president to convince him to contest to which Atiku objected. He reminded them that in the run up to the 2011 PDP presidential primary election, they had asked him to join the race, only for them to abandon him midway and threw their support behind the eventual winner of the primary and the subsequent presidential election, President Goodluck Jonathan. The source said that the governors who are now convincing Atiku to contest in 2015 asked him to forget what had happened in the past, as the circumstances of the moment dictate that he should contest the forthcoming presidential election. It was gathered that though Atiku is very keen on the 2015 contest, during the meeting with the PDP governors he feigned a lack of interest, in order to determine the seriousness of the governors. After the meeting, the former vice-president received another delegation comprising senior members of the Northern Elders group, asking him to contest the 2015 presidential election. It was at this stage that he met with a group of intellectuals to also seek their opinions on whether to contest or not. THISDAY gathered that the opinions of the intellectuals that the former vice-president sought were divided, though with the majority urging him to contest. The minority view of the intellectuals asked the former vice-president what he stood to lose if he did not contest, bearing in mind the uphill task it takes to defeat an incumbent. When asked to name the zones where the 11 governors came from, the source said: “For obvious reasons, the zones where these governors represent will not matter at the moment, but suffice it to say that those at the meeting persuading the former vice-president to contest were all PDP governors. “Don’t worry about the 11 governors and the Northern Elders, just be assured that the former vice-president is in consultations with the said governors and the Northern Elders and very soon, you will hear the official position.” According to him, “The problem with Atiku contesting is which political party he would use as a platform to realise this task, as from the look of things, his party, the PDP, will not give him the ticket as the presidential candidate. “The spectre of right of first refusal being considered for President Goodluck Jonathan seems to be getting more support in the party and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, as presently constituted, is not willing to give the ticket to any other person other than the president.” Atiku however assured the governors and the Northern Elders that the PDP constitution allows for a presidential primary election to choose its standard bearer for the presidential election and that the 2015 presidential election would be not be different. But it was against this backdrop that the meeting asked the former vice-president in which of the political parties he intends to contest the 2015 presidential election, should the PDP insist on the right of first refusal option used to nominate Jonathan. The source said Atiku assured the governors, Northern Elders and the Special Intelligent Committee that was set up that the issue of platform would pose no problem. The source added: “The former vice-president ruled out any association with the Bola Tinubu-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) because of his experience with Tinubu during the 2007 presidential election.” He said Atiku gave some insights into how Bola Tinubu cut a deal with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and even donated money to the late president’s campaign organisation, despite the fact that he (Atiku) was the Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate. THISDAY gathered that the issue of determining the platform on which Atiku might contest the presidential election is already a settled issue, as he will contest on the newly registered All Peoples Alliance (APA). APA was registered by INEC on December 20, 2012, the same day the United Progressive Party (UPP) fronted by Chekwas Okorie was registered. A source told THISDAY that if the PDP gives its ticket to the president, Atiku would move to APA to contest against him. THISDAY had exclusively reported yesterday that eight PDP governors had resolved to leave the PDP en masse. Should this happen, PDP will lose its dominance in the number of states it controls. Tags: Featured, Nigeria, Politics, Atiku Abubakar
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 23:43:52 +0000
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