CHIBUZO UKAIBE and ANAYO ONUKWUGHA, write on the intrigues arising from the recent declaration of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar last week to vie for the presidential ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State while meeting with the State governor, Nyesom Wike.

On March 27, 2018, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital for a meeting with stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But this was more than the regular party meeting. After the fanfare and glamour that trailed his arrival, Atiku, who last December, left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the PDP, declared his ambition to run for President on the platform of the leading opposition political party, during the 2019 general election. His declaration was planned. The former vice president was accompanied on the visit by some party chieftains including, former PDP National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael Aaondoka and former Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi. Although this might not pass for a grand declaration but, it was his first significant public statement on his ambition, even though it had been commonplace talk that he would contest the presidency in 2019. Still, the choice of Port Harcourt was significant, according to party watchers. With the growing influence of the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, in the affairs of the party, it was strategic for the former Vice President to inform the governor and lobby his support.

Many PDP watchers believe that Atiku’s decision to declare in Port Harcourt, reinforces, Wike’s influence in the party. The former vice president is not the first to declare his intent to become the PDP presidential candidate, which is zoned to the North foisted on it by the ruling party. The former Vice President, who boasted that he will easily defeat President Muhammadu Buhari if he gets PDP’s ticket in 2019, said the President has become politically weak after squandering the goodwill of Nigerians accorded him during the 2015 elections. Atiku, who was deputy to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said, “I will definitely beat him this time. He has wasted a lot of his massive goodwill.” Atiku said, “There is nothing wrong with it. Ours is a fledgling democracy. What it means is that political parties are yet to mature and are going through constant transformations and changes. “That is why even President Buhari has been able to move from party to party, including ANPP, CPC and now APC. And for those who read about world history and political books like I do, they will know that Abraham Lincoln, Sir Winston Churchill and others went through so much before achieving their dreams. “After Buhari won the election, he was no longer interested in the party that made him president. Every activity stopped and even the party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, could not take any decision. “I called Chief Odigie-Oyegun to tell him that our party was dying slowly, but he told me he could not do anything unless he got clearance from the president. “The party became a one-man property. Everyone grumbles behind the president but they are too timid to raise a voice against the illegalities being perpetrated. I should be bold enough to know what I want, and can do so at my age. So, I decided to leave.” Making the declaration to runby the party. Former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido; former Kano State governor; Ibrahim Shekarau; governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo. Others are former minister of special duties, Ibrahim Turaki; immediate past chairman of the PDP national caretaker committee, Sen Ahmed Makarfi. There is also the governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, from the south, who is running against the tide. Lamido is perhaps the most visible on the list of aspirants so far. He has staged two major rallies in Jigawa State. Like Atiku, he has also made visits to Port Harcourt, perhaps to reinforce his lobby for the ticket from Wike. While Fayose has repeatedly maintained that he will contest for the presidential ticket, other aspirants have not been as aggressive in their pursuit for the presidential ticket of the party. Nevertheless, findings within the PDP reveal that the overbearing influence of Wike is becoming a concern in certain quarters of the party.

It was learnt that some governors have not been comfortable with the way Wike’s posture has been sending off some major interests within the party. While last December’s national convention created some acrimony among those who lost, it was gathered that the dismissive posture of the governor played a major part in the eventual defection of founding fathers of the party, like former ministers, Prof Jerry Gana and Prof Tunde Adeniran. However, addressing the gathering in Port Harcourt, Atiku, who was vice president between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP, said he was on a mission to put Nigeria on the path of growth and set if free from the path of “serial failure” for President while addressing PDP stakeholders at the party’s secretariat, Atiku noted that he is offering himself to set the country on the path of growth. The former Vice President stated that since 2015, the APC-led Federal Government has destroyed the education, health and infrastructural sectors through poor budgetary allocations and releases. Atiku said, “Since  2015, we have not seen a 100kilometres constructed by the APC Federal Government anywhere in the country.” The presidential hopeful, who called for the unity of the country, saying that  no component  part of the country to progress alone, further called on Rivers PDP stakeholders to support his ambition to emerge as the party’s presidential candidate. Lending his voice to Atiku’s appeal for support from the PDP stakeholders, former PDP National Chairman, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo said that Atiku Abubakar is a detribalised Nigerian, with the capacity to rescue the country.

In his own speech, former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, described the former Vice President as a true Nigerian, with business and political links across the country, adding that Nigeria needs Atiku Abubakar to  revive  the country. To Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, there is the need for all PDP members irrespective of their status to ensure that the march to the Presidential Villa is not truncated by disunity. The governor said, “Every Presidential Aspirant must see himself as a member of the larger PDP family. We must do everything to ensure that PDP returns to the Presidential Villa in 2019.

Read More at: https://leadership.ng/2018/04/01/2019-atiku-declaration-and-the-wike-influence/

Atiku nailed it for me here;

However, addressing the gathering in Port Harcourt, Atiku, who was vice president between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP, said he was on a mission to put Nigeria on the path of growth and set if free from the path of “serial failure” for President while addressing PDP stakeholders at the party’s secretariat, Atiku noted that he is offering himself to set the country on the path of growth. The former Vice President stated that since 2015, the APC-led Federal Government has destroyed the education, health and infrastructural sectors through poor budgetary allocations and releases. Atiku said, “Since  2015, we have not seen a 100kilometres constructed by the APC Federal Government anywhere in the country.”

SweetPuffPuff:



And missed it here Condoning the terriost group fulani herdsmens killing spree saying:

“It is environmental challenge caused by climate change. The occupational practice of pastoralists and even the fishermen are threatened.

“The water resources and grasses are not available and the pastoralists are forced to move toward the South.

“In Kebbi, the predominant prisoners in custody are the Fulanis; they are prone to crime because of lack of Education.

“On the other hand, they are also victims of cattle rustlers who attack them and take away their animals.”
http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/05/atiku-reveals-fulani-herdsmen-violent/

I hope u folks dont mess up and elect another buhari in this man

I am too sure you are one of the folks that took Atiku's submission on the Fulani Hersdmen totally out of context so I can relate to your confusion. Panic no more, Atiku is a detrabilized Nigerian you and I know unlike Buhari and I am too sure that he will never condone this nonsense from these Fulani Herdsmen. He is only against labeling an entire tribe as terrorist but did not support the bad eggs in there.

Nigeria must be stopped from an inevitable civil war due to Buhari's implementation of Fulani expansionist agenda to use herdsmen to massacre and annex peoples lands by force. While using Nigeria army under Buhari to protect them from retaliatory attacks.

May God help detribalized Nigerians like Atiku and others to pull Nigeria away from the looming carnage.

cjrane:
Nigeria must be stopped from an inevitable civil war due to Buhari's implementation of Fulani expansionist agenda to use herdsmen to massacre and annex peoples lands by force. While using Nigeria army under Buhari to protect them from retaliatory attacks.

May God help detribalized Nigerians like Atiku and others to pull Nigeria away from the looming carnage.

You are on course crane, where are you based?

Atiku In His Own Words;

Below are what Atiku said with his own mouth and you have the right to query or question or probe him on this, you have your conscience intact, so you be the judge yourself;

 “People say I became rich in government. It’s a lie. I had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets declared in 1999. I was able to personally bankroll the Peoples Democratic Party back then, so surely, I was not poor.” (Atiku responding to the allegations that he enriched himself while in office as Vice President)

“I Go Dye, I’m not a messiah. I do not promise Eldorado or $1 = N1, but I always ask that we should look at the economic progress we made under my leadership and what I am doing in private business and judge me by those.”  (Atiku's response to "I Go Dye", a Nigerian popular Comedian, on why he is qualified and a better candidate to become President of Nigeria)

“As VP, I assembled what is arguably the best economic team ever in Nigeria. It was made up of young, world-class professionals, who came home to work. Some of those professionals are now political leaders, governors and world leaders in their own right." (Atiku's influence on the economic development of Nigeria as the Head of the National Economic Council revealed here)

 “I remember the only corruption indictment against me was a white paper which was cooked up by our own administration overnight to including the very EFCC that I helped found and other cabinet ministers, which I challenged in court. The court rightly dismissed all those indictments as being mere political, and till today nobody has ever indicted me of corruption.” (This was his defense against the indictment cooked up against him by Obasanjo and EFCC which is yet to be proved by EFCC till date in any Court of law)

“For example, between 1999 and 2003, oil prices then were hovering between $16 and $28 yet we managed to pay up salary arrears from decades back, clear up our national debts and build up foreign reserves. Our Gross Domestic Product grew at the fastest rate we’ve seen since the return to democracy.” (Despite decades of military  rule, the Obasanjo/Atiku era brought Nigeria out of the woods based on "working economic policies" Atiku helped set up)

 “I regret that I had that disagreement with my boss. Some say I was disloyal, but I looked at the events in Zimbabwe recently, and it gives me confidence that I did the right thing fighting the attempts to elongate the presidential tenure beyond eight years. If I did not win that fight, do you think we would be having a discussion on young people getting into leadership today?” (His stand on why he had to fight the illegal Third Term ambition of his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, which would have set a bad precedence for future administrations)

“I went to the World Bank and met a bright lady, convinced her to come back home, and she became a star in our government. To show you we had effective leadership, the same lady could not replicate her exploits under a different government,”  (On his discovery of the one and only Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former, Minister of Finance)

 “In my home state of Adamawa, for example, I’ve created over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect ones. We are the largest private employers of labour in the state, only second to the state government. It’s not a lot, but it does help reduce unemployment. Who do you think are holding those jobs? Yes, young people.” (This is Alhaji Atiku's direct and indirect impacts on employments as an individual)

"What is happening in Nigeria is that as a nation, we are caught up in a modern-day Malthusian Trap. For years, our population has been growing faster than our Gross Domestic Product, bringing us to a point where we have an ever-increasing population competing for resources that are not keeping pace with population growth." (Alhaji Atiku's submission on the state of the Nation under Buhari while making his keynote address at the  Silverbird Man of the year 2017 Awards Night)

"It may sound simplistic, but if Nigeria can assemble a leadership focused on getting us out of this Malthusian Trap by gradually reversing the trend where population growth exceeds GDP growth, many of these challenges we are currently facing will slowly but surely fade away." (Atiku's blueprint for the way out of our current surging populations versus our depleting Gross Domestic Products as a Country)

"This month of February 2018, according to the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria has just overtaken India as the world’s capital of extreme poverty. There are more extremely poor people in Nigeria than there are in India, a country that has six times Nigeria’s population." (Alhaji Atiku affirming the grim situation Nigerians found themselves in under the Buhari-led administration)

"After contracting for five consecutive quarters, Nigeria came out of recession in the second quarter of 2017 with a GDP growth rate of 0.55%. In the third quarter, we fared better with 1.40%. While this looks somewhat like we exited the recession, the reality is that when you factor in our population growth rate of 2.3%, which is one of the highest in the world, have we really exited a recession? Technically, yes, but in reality, it is doubtful." (Atiku's humble but concise statistical analysis of the true picture of our economic status as a Country)

“When people do not have jobs and the means to start a business are beyond their reach, they are incrementally much more likely to engage in criminal behaviours like terrorism, kidnapping, militancy and armed robbery." (Atiku bringing to the open a simple reason why violences have taken over Nigeria landscape)

“According to the African Development Bank, in 2017, 18 African countries grew their Gross Domestic Product above 5%. Nigeria, which was number one in 2014, was not amongst these nations. We must figure out what has happened in the intervening years between 2014 and 2018 and fix what went wrong." (This is the height of gross ineptitude on leadership as His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku, gave an expository revelation on how Nigeria fell from the top just within 3 years of APC's leadership)

“What happened to brilliant initiatives like the YouWIN programme which gave Nigerian youths the training and funding to start their own businesses?” (The One Million Dollar Question His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku is asking this rudderless APC's government)

“Let me say this: The Restructuring that I, Atiku Abubakar, envisions, will see no state receive less money from the federation account than it currently does. I hope that will ease the anxieties of some who oppose restructuring. Restructuring will not cheat you. It will free you." (Alhaji Atiku's stance on restructuring)

“When I was in government, we reduced recurrent expenditure by introducing the monetisation policy and by privatising many government enterprises, especially those that were consuming resources without generating revenue. Those policies have been bastardized today and we have seen a ballooning of our recurrent expenditure and shrinkage of our capital expenditure. We must return to the basics.” (Atiku showing the wrong approach of this APC's government in the area of fiscal policies)

“We have to enact laws to prevent leaders from diverting public funds from the public health sector to the treatment of the elite in the best hospitals abroad. If you can afford it from your own private resources, then pay for it. But do not make the tax payer pay for it." (This is Alhaji Atiku demanding that laws should be made to ensure that our leaders are made to pay for their health related issues anytime they seek medical attention abroad and not from public funds)

“We are in critical times, and as I conclude, I want to urge a paradigm shift in Nigeria. Our elite are treated in Europe. Big Brother Naija is being broadcast from South Africa and Nike is unveiling our FIFA World Cup Jersey in London. Is this the extent to which we have outsourced Nigeria? As far as I am concerned, if it concerns Nigeria, it must be done in Nigeria, not abroad. Not abroad.” (Atiku promoting "Made in Nigeria for Nigerians" ideology)

All What Atiku Is Saying Is, "Judge Me On My Track Records In Political And Business Careers And Not On Innuendoes"

tomakint:


You are on course crane, where are you based?

My bros i'm in Lagos.

I believe the north should be given a chance to complete at least 8 years of ruling the country. But this does not mean bringing the worst and inefficient dullard from the north to rule Nigeria. There are good and decent northerners like Alhaji Atiku who have proven themselves in numerous positions in the past. They best part is that Atiku understands the diversity of Nigeria and uses it as a strength rather than a weakness of Nigeria.

Unlike Buhari, who has very poor understanding of the diversity of Nigeria and believes diversity is a bad thing and therefore he creates crises all over the country out of his poor understanding of what governance is about. See what he has done to the national economy because he does not understand that if the economy is good, it is good for everyone. We have to save Nigeria from the catastrophe that has befallen the country called Buhari. We know he is determined to rig the 2019 elections. So everyone will be ready to vote and publish the results of their polling booth as soon as its announced to a central telephone number where we can track how the people actually voted.

Atiku must begin to build a national coalition quickly. Buhari is banking on everyone not doing anything until its too late.

cjrane:

My bros i'm in Lagos.

I believe the north should be given a chance to complete at least 8 years of ruling the country. But this does not mean bringing the worst and inefficient dullard from the north to rule Nigeria. There are good and decent northerners like Alhaji Atiku who have proven themselves in numerous positions in the past. They best part is that Atiku understands the diversity of Nigeria and uses it as a strength rather than a weakness of Nigeria.

Unlike Buhari, who has very poor understanding of the diversity of Nigeria and believes diversity is a bad thing and therefore he creates crises all over the country out of his poor understanding of what governance is about. See what he has done to the national economy because he does not understand that if the economy is good, it is good for everyone. We have to save Nigeria from the catastrophe that has befallen the country called Buhari. We know he is determined to rig the 2019 elections. So everyone will be ready to vote and publish the results of their polling booth as soon as its announced to a central telephone number where we can track how the people actually voted.

Atiku must begin to build a national coalition quickly. Buhari is banking on everyone not doing anything until its too late.

You are a true democrat with a beautiful spirit sir. We need to talk. I tried to private message you on NL but it's not going through

SweetPuffPuff:



And missed it here Condoning the terriost group fulani herdsmens killing spree saying:

“It is environmental challenge caused by climate change. The occupational practice of pastoralists and even the fishermen are threatened.

“The water resources and grasses are not available and the pastoralists are forced to move toward the South.

“In Kebbi, the predominant prisoners in custody are the Fulanis; they are prone to crime because of lack of Education.

“On the other hand, they are also victims of cattle rustlers who attack them and take away their animals.”
http://dailypost.ng/2018/03/05/atiku-reveals-fulani-herdsmen-violent/

I hope u folks dont mess up and elect another buhari in this man

But what he said as you quoted is generally true.
Just that we prefer the narrative it is a religious agenda

Disclosure, I am not an Atiku fan, never was and little chance of ever supporting his ambition.

All I know is that my precious one vote will be for the best candidate come 2019