Former
Vice President Atiku is weighing up the pursuance of his presidential
ambition under the banner of the PDP as it appears Buhari may contest
again.
Atiku Abubakar
There are indications that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and
a former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, are making moves
towards clinching the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic
Party for the 2019 election.
Investigations by a Punch correspondent showed that both
politicians had been discussing with the leaders of the party with the
hope of gaining their support for the ticket.
It was gathered that Atiku, though a member of the ruling All
Progressives Congress, was already tinkering with the idea of returning
to his former party if he would not be allowed to contest the ticket in
his current party.
He is said to be considering other options on the premise that President Muhammadu Buhari might want to run for a second term.
In the event that he would not, the President would also be expected to “anoint” his successor in the party.
Though Atiku had denied plans to leave the APC, sources in the PDP,
however, said Atiku’s hand could be felt in the current moves to
reposition the former ruling party.
A member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, who spoke with a
correspondent on condition of anonymity, said Atiku was neck-deep in the
activities of the party.
He explained that it was wrong to assume that the current travails
of members of the party were rubbing off on its acceptability across the
country, adding that Nigerians would be surprised with the calibre of
people currently speaking with the leadership of the PDP.
The source added, “Atiku knows that he may not have the chance to contest the APC ticket, and that’s why we have been talking.
“He wants to be President and as it is, nothing is sure for him
in his new party. He still believes that his former party, which is the
PDP, is a formidable party on which platform he can realise his
age-long ambition.”
Atiku recently visited a former dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida
(retd.), in Minna, who recently returned to the country from his medical
trip to Switzerland.
It was believed that the former Vice-President used the occasion to
discuss his 2019 presidential ambition, but the former presidential
aspirant denied such insinuation.
Media aide to Atiku, Mr. Paul Ibe, said Atiku was not the first
person to visit Babangida, who annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential
election, believed to have been won by the late businessman, Bashorun
Moshood Abiola, since his return to the country.
Apart from the former military dictator, he said the former
Vice-President could not be said to have visited any other person of
recent. Babangiga, who reluctantly “stepped aside” from office after
eight years in the saddle as military President, is believed to still be
a member of the PDP.
“He just came back from a medical trip abroad. Atiku isn’t the only person that has visited him,” Ibe said.
Ibe declined comments on whether the former Vice-President would
run for the Presidency in 2019 or on which platform. He said Atiku had
yet to make up his mind on whether to run for the nation’s number one
seat, stressing that until such a decision was taken, it would be too
early to talk about which platform.
Ibe added, “I can’t say whether he would contest now. The desire to contest has to be there first before we can talk about the platform.
“Until when the decision to run is taken, the issue of which platform remains secondary.
“I’m aware that there is pressure on him to run in 2019, but no decision has been taken yet.”
He added that the Turaki Adamawa like other Nigerians, is
disappointed with a lot of things going on in the country. It was also
gathered that the national leadership of the PDP, headed by Senator
Ahmed Makarfi, was planning to visit Atiku with a view to wooing him
back to the party.
A member of the Strategic Review and Inter-Party Committee of the
party, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, said the party would visit all those who
had left the party.
Adeniran, a former Minister of Education and an aspirant to the
office of the national chairman of the party, would, however, not
disclose if and when his committee would visit Atiku.
He told The PUNCH on the telephone on Wednesday that the PDP was
desirous of returning to power in 2019, adding that those who could be
instrumental in its success at the polls, would be visited.
The former minister stated, “We are meeting everybody. We are going to have meetings with all those who are ready to open up and return to the PDP.
“Everybody is important; so, and we will not mention the names
of those we are going to visit, but let me say that those who share in
the vision of the party’s founding fathers will be visited.
“We know that the PDP remains a popular party across the
country. Therefore, we will also do our own homework in order to make
sure that we return to power in 2019.”
It was gathered that the party’s hierarchy was divided over the
likely return of Atiku to the party as some leaders were said to be of
the opinion that only those, who had stood by the party from inception,
be trusted with its presidential ticket.
The former vice-president had left the PDP twice. Lamido, who is
also said to be eyeing the party’s ticket, was believed to be
engineering subtle moves against Atiku.
The former governor had stated publicly that he would run for the Presidency in 2019.
Meanwhile, the national leadership of the party has said it will not react to the gale of defection in the party.
It also said it would not comment on the defection of Senator Andy Uba from the party to the APC.
Spokesperson for the National Caretaker Committee of the party,
Dayo Adeyeye, stated this in an interview with our correspondent on the
telephone on Wednesday.
Adeyeye also refused to comment on the rumours making the rounds
that some governors in the party from the South-East were also planning
to ditch the former ruling party for the APC.
“No, it is not an issue I would like to comment on,” the former Minister of State for Works told a correspondent on Wednesday.
Reliance Training and Management Consulting, a dynamic, fast growing indigenous entity, was established and duly registered with the aim to nurture, develop and innovate people and organisations through customized training, development and management consulting services, with excellent performance, deep sense of commitment, transparency, honesty and responsibility, to demonstrate the highest standard of technical and operational expertise.
Reliance is competently positioned to provide technical knowledge and skills relevant to practical management and business problems, to stimulate the creativity and innovation necessary to build a better community, a better nation and a better world with a committed mind set to contributing our best to the maximization of personal potentials and skills toward optimizing productivity and achieving organisational goals.
for more information click RELIANCE TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
No need to visit Tonygists just use the android application click for more info Tonygists android application
Visit some of the website built by tonygists
1. south south penpushers : south south pen pushers
2. kingdom builders : Kingdom builders
Tonygists bro: honest zone
Are You On youtube? subscribe to Hot GIST Channel Latest Updates - @Hot Gist
Are You On youtube? subscribe to Gospel World (which is also owned by Tony Gists) youtube Channel Latest Updates - @Gospel world
Are you on audio mack? Follow Tonygists on audio mack to listen and download to the latest Mfm sermons Latest Updates - @Tonygists
Follow Tonygists on LinkedIn to get more jobs opportunities Latest Updates - @Tonygists
Are You On youtube? subscribe to Honest Ose Channel Latest Updates - @Honest Ose
Are You On youtube? subscribe to Honest Web Solutions Channel Latest Updates - @Honest Web Solutions
Are You On youtube? subscribe to Xtremely Honest Channel Latest Updates - @Xtremely Honest
Are You On Twitter? Follow Us Now For Latest Updates - @tonygists
Are You On FACEBOOK? Like Our Page For Latest Updates - tonygists
Are You On FACEBOOK? Join Our Group For Latest Updates And Interactions - TonyGists
© 2024 Tonygists | Portions are © 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.
