Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar in this interview on Arise Television, speaks on issues relating to the crisis in the party, his choice of running mate and his chances in the 2023 presidential election. He also shares his thoughts on how to address the insecurity challenges in the country as well as the farmers-herders clashes. TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI who monitored the session for Daily Independent brings the excerpts:

You’ve been in this business since 1992 and you are still contesting in 2023. How do you feel about being a veteran or perpetual presidential candidate and what gives you the confidence that this time around, you will succeed?

Maybe I may have to take you back to my political journey or history. If you recall, even when I was trying to be the governor of my state from Old Gongola state up to present Adamawa state, I ran four times before eventually I was elected as a governor even though I never served to become vice-president. Basically, I am driven by passion and the desire to give back to this country in appreciation of what this country has done for me. If I were to be born around this time, I don’t think I will be fortunate to become what I have become today. So, I am more or less driven by the passion to give back to the society. It is not a new thing, either in politics or even in history. We have several leaders all over the world who have made attempts to serve their country. One of the greatest presidents in the American history is Abraham Lincoln. This was somebody who ran up to five or six times before becoming the president of the United States. At this my age, and what I have been able to accomplish, I don’t think I desire anything more than the passion to serve my country and my fellow countrymen and women. This is what has been the driving force behind my persistent desire to serve my country and the people.

Some within your party struggled to accept the idea of another Northern president after what will be eight years of another Northern presidency under President Muhammadu Buhari and this has found new resentment when you rejected Governor Nyesom Wike as your running mate. So, why did you choose Governor Okowa as your running mate over Wike and what are you doing to unify your party so that Governor Wike and others get behind your candidacy?

I also want you to recollect that I have contested this presidency a couple of times and anytime I lost, I did not try to blame anybody. I will first of all, carry my grievances to the court of law, up to the Supreme Court. Whatever the Supreme Court decides, then I move on and I plan for the future. So, first and foremost, I don’t think that Governor Wike was rejected. Nobody was rejected in the party. But the point is that, you must understand that it is the prerogative of the candidate to pick his running mate; a running mate that he believes he can work with amicably and then also deliver the policies of the party and also try to unify the country. If you can go through history, I was given a ticket in 2007 and I picked a South-Easterner an Igbo. I was given a ticket in 2019, I picked an Igbo and in 2022, I was given the ticket and I picked an Igbo man again consecutively. This is just to show you my desire to unify the country. Governor Wike is a brilliant politician, courageous and tenacious. I believe he has a future in the political evolution of this country. So, it is not the question of rejection. Certainly not! I think it is too harsh a word to say that we rejected Governor Wike.

Since Governor Wike and his colleagues started protesting that you should have chosen him because that is the decision that was taken by a group that was put together by your party with your consent to choose the running mate, Governor Ortom of Benue said Wike was the choice of 13 out of 17 members of the committee but you jettisoned the report. How far have you gone in reconciling with Wike?

First and foremost, let me put the records straight. The committee that was set up at my instance deliberated; there was no vote. They recommended three names because they knew that it was my prerogative to pick anyone of the three. So, there was actually no vote. It is not true. He, Governor Ortom himself chaired that committee. He knew that there was no vote taken. I have the report of that committee. They said we are recommending the following and they recommended three people. Out of the three people, I picked one. I did not go out of that recommendation. So, I think people should be fair to me and should also state the facts. That is one aspect of it. We are reaching out to Governor Wike and we are talking with him. I believe that very soon, we will find reconciliation because we are talking to him and his governor colleagues. I am very optimistic that we are going to resolve our internal crisis and move on.

Are you saying Governor Samuel Ortom lied to the public?

What he said was inaccurate. I can give you a copy of the report that was sent to me. There was no voting there or records of any vote. Absolutely not!

You expressed your preference for a running mate from the South-East but the agitation initially was that the presidency will be micro-zoned to the South-East….

(cuts in) No, that is not correct! That was not PDP. There was nothing like that in PDP. You are absolutely wrong. Agitation is different from a decision to microzone. PDP has never sat down as a party to microzone any position. Yes, we have said there should be a rotation between North and South as well as the presidency and as well as key party positions are concerned. We started it and brought that into our constitution, not any other party. Every other party is just following what we initiated. So, we have never microzoned any position to any parts of this country. It has always been between North and South. Of course, there have been agitations from the South-East because since the return of democracy they have not produced the president, neither did they produce the vice-president. That is quite legitimate. But in politics, you negotiate power through the constitution, not through coercion or force. That is why it is called politics.

Your former running mate, Peter Obi left your party for the Labour Party. How do you think this will affect your prospect given the fact that the South-East has always been a safe zone for the PDP?

I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as much vote from the PDP as people are suggesting. We saw that in the last election in Osun state. What is the performance of the Labour Party? This is a party that doesn’t have a governor; it doesn’t have members of the National Assembly; it doesn’t have state assembly members and politics in this country depends on the structures you have at these various levels, at the local government levels, state levels and at the national level. So, it is very difficult to expect a miracle simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party. Afterall, they are saying through the social media, they have more than 1 million votes in Osun state but how many voters turn out to vote for Labour Party? And then again, mark you, they are talking about social media. In the north, 90 percent of our people are not on social media.

Former governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose said Section 3c of the constitution is very clear about rotation and zoning and that PDP jettisoned its constitution by picking a northern candidate. Several groups in the party are also calling for the national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu to step down because he made a promise to do so if the candidate comes from the north. Why are you defending Ayu to stay on like you did at the PDP rally in Osogbo?

The position we have found ourselves is not the first time PDP has found itself but there is a difference. If the elected president is from the North and the party chairman also happens to be from the North, automatically the party chairmanship reverts to the South. So, Ayo Fayose is reading the provision of Section 3 of our constitution upside down . We have had it before; we have gone through this before. This is not the only time or first time. If today I am elected the president, automatically, Senator Ayu steps down. In fact, we had a meeting of the Northern zone, all the stakeholders on the issue of Senator Ayu and also the chairman of the Board of Trustees and we all agreed that if the president is elected from the North, both positions will also revert. I think there is also a general misunderstanding. PDP is different from APC. Of course, APC copied some of the things we are doing because we are an older party but they now lump us together. They now said since Buhari is from the North, so even PDP itself must pick a candidate from the South. They have forgotten that in all the PDP administrations, the South has the highest number of years when the PDP was in office. So, I think we need to separate these two so that we can be very rational in our argument. But I think I will also like to blame the media for not trying to differentiate between these two issues.

What is the prospect of your ambition since the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has picked a running mate from the North East in person of Senator Kashim Shetimma? Also, what is your take on the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket?

My fundamental disagreement with Asiwaju (Tinubu) since 2007 was on the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket. That was my fundamental disagreement and departure politically from Asiwaju. Remember, I opted out of PDP because of zoning, and together with Asiwaju we formed ACN and I was given the ticket in Lagos.Tinubu insisted on being my running mate when I was given the ACN presidential ticket in 2007, but I disagreed and said no! I am not going to have a Muslim-Muslim ticket. And because of that, he switched his support to the late Umar Yar’Adua. That was the parting shot. Of course, it is also a fact that when Buhari emerged in 2015 in Lagos, I opposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket. My opposition actually reinforced the decision of President Buhari to pick a Christian running mate. So, I have all along opposed that. I don’t believe it is right for a country like Nigeria, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation, and there should be a religious balance in our leadership. It is unwelcoming and unripe for Nigeria as a democratic state.

On the issue of my prospect as regards APC’s running mate who is also from the North-East, I believe that my prospect are higher. If you look at the composition of the North-East, you have Borno and Yobe. These are essentially two Kanuri states and then you have the other states which are essentially Hausa -Fulani states. So, even if people are going to vote on that basis, I think I have a more favourable prospect from the North-East.

What is your position on the implementation of RUGA by the federal government?

First of all, grazing or no grazing is not a federal issue. It is a state issue. I have more than 1,000 herds of cattle. They have never gone beyond Adamawa state. So, as far as I am concerned, it is originally a state issue. States are at liberty to take whatever measures in terms of law, either for or against anti-grazing as far as I am concerned. I don’t think the federal government should have anything to do with it. I believe that was how it used to be during the First Republic. Yes, in the First Republic, there was a grazing in the northern region because we used to have Grazing Reserves then in the northern region. But then the region was split into states. It is therefore the responsibility of the states. It is a concurrent issue even in our constitution. I don’t think we should try to bring about legislation or changes at the national level.

People are saying you and Asiwaju are friends and Nigerians shouldn’t expect much of you wins. How do you respond to that?

We are still friends but that doesn’t mean that we will not have political differences. We have been having political differences ever since we became friends. There is nothing unusual about that. Of course, I am determined to beat him at the polls in 2023.
https://independent.ng/im-determined-to-beat-tinubu-in-2023-presidential-election-atiku/

Both of you will lose the election to Mr Obi

The odds favours you.
People that does not know how elections are won will not stop ranting up and down.

Time will tell if you are the best man for the job.

Sai waziri

Someone should please help me with airtime Airtel even if it is 100 naira i would really appreciate

It's gross over feeding that made the cow thinks he will one day be as fat like an elephant. if Tinubu like make he import immigrants from Togo, Ghana & Benin Republic to come register in Lagos & inflate the numbers of INEC registered voters to 14 million. he go be like film 4 he eyes. 6 vs 19 states. no one tells a blind a meal is salty. mtcheeew!

Your people have done 90% of the work. Forcing muslim muslim on him, and buhari destroying the economy, he is already out of the race.

But the Obidient Nigerians will shock the both of u.

By the grace of God Tinubu will win the election.But the zombidient people will loose obediently

Oloche15:
Sai waziri

Someone should please help me with airtime Airtel even if it is 100 naira i would really appreciate

You better be serious!
Sai Waziri and you cannot afford a #100 data? Is that the new templates given to you guys?

Make sure you beat his rigging machine first!

Tinubu can only win with massive rigging.
Nigeria DOES NOT WANT APC!

Next, you will have to deal with the Obedient Servants!

Wow.
Does it have to be that long?
I’m waiting for comments

Sai waziri

Someone should please help me with airtime Airtel even if it is 100 naira i would really appreciate

Ask waziri

Is he determined to beat tinubu or he's determined to deliver Nigeria?
which one you dey oga?

This man is really not serious

So you’ve not receive pension .. how is that anybody’s bussines..
you wear one watch .. how’s that anyhumans bussiness

Your son no get car.. how’s that our business

You’re stingy with public funds .. wetin you come carry a.m. do?
Meaning you lack ideas . Simply reason you couldn’t invest it and the next government merry it away