2019: Senator Makarfi denies eeports on ex-VP Atiku Abubakar

The former National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and presidential aspirant, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has denied reports where he was purported to have said that he did not need money to defeat former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also a presidential aspirant of the party.

In a statement on Monday in Kaduna, Makarfi said he did not make such statement about Atiku who he said he holds in very high esteem and maintains a cordial and mutually respectful relationship with.

The statement signed by his spokesman, Mukhtar Sirajo, said Makarfi’s “attention has been drawn to some news headlines making the rounds to the effect that he said he didn’t need money to defeat Atiku Abubakar in the quest for PDP presidential nomination.

“We want to categorically state that that could just be an inference drawn by the reporters from the answer the distinguished senator gave to one of their questions during his engagement with them”.

The statement further said: “The question had to do with what they considered his relative disadvantage in a contest that required funding and in which more financially loaded aspirants were involved.

“Makarfi’s answer, which did not mention Atiku’s or anybody’s name was that one did not need to be loaded to lead and went on to cite examples of previous and even current leaders who had no money when leadership beckoned on them.”

The statement emphasised: “For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Makarfi wishes to make it clear that he holds former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in very high esteem and that the relationship between them is very cordial and mutually respectful.

“Makarfi therefore reiterates this respect for him and all the other aspirants whom he considers as brothers and comrades in the struggle to return Nigeria to a path real democracy and sanity”.