Atiku Abubakar
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential candidate, Atiku
Abubakar, has fired back at the Buhari Campaign Organization which had
suggested that his emergence as the main opposition flag bearer in next
year’s election was the result of money politics.
A statement issued on Monday by his campaign organization in Abuja,
observed that the presidential candidate was not surprised that his
emergence has caused confusion in the camp of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Atiku noted that various acts of corruption were being committed
under the present administration, which he said caused Transparency
International to classify the country as a more corrupt country now than
it was three years ago.
He said that the choice before Nigerians was between a candidate
who has provided over 50,000 jobs to people in his personal capacity and
the other under whom 11 million Nigerians have lost their jobs.
He said: “We are not surprised that there is confusion in the
President’s camp. We expected that they would be thrown into a catatonic
state knowing that HE Atiku Abubabakr’s emergence automatically means
the coming end of their ignominious reign. That much was admitted by the
President’s former running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare when he praised
the emergence of HE Atiku as an ‘Eagle’ and ‘a cosmopolitan wazobia’
politician. Obviously, Pastor Tunde Bakare has foreseen that the era of
97% versus 5% has come to an end with the emergence of the pan Nigerian
Atiku Abubakar.
“We ask how can the Buhari Campaign Organisation disparage the
PDP Primary that produced His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, when even the
President’s own wife, Aisha Buhari, has condemned the APC’s primary? Not
only did Mrs Buhari condemn APC’s primaries, but she also described
them as ‘unfair’ and lacking in integrity. Who can know President Buhari
better than his wife?
“Eleven aspirants contested against His Excellency, Atiku
Abubakar, during the Presidential primary of the PDP. Every single one
of them accepted his victory. President Buhari was the only candidate
cleared by the APC to contest its primary, yet, a coalition of 5
aspirants are challenging his victory, that alone tells Nigerians his
emergence is fraudulent.
“Nigerians know that Atiku Abubakar is the most investigated
politician in Nigeria and any smear by the Buhari administration remains
just that. With the vindictiveness of President Buhari, he would have
arrested HE Abubakar if he had been found wanting.
“However, to set the record straight, we want to remind
Nigerians that PDP’s primaries were genuine, free and fair. Atiku
Abubakar got 1,532 votes in a contest televised live to millions of
Nigerians. The All Progressives Congress’ primary, on the other hand,
was a study in dictatorship and corruption. The sole candidate,
Muhammadu Buhari, scored almost 15 million votes. How could that occur
without rigging or manufacturing of faceless voters?”
“No wonder Transparency International rated Nigeria as more
corrupt today under Buhari than just three years ago when the PDP was in
power. The scandals are too numerous, including the $25 billion NNPC
contracts awarded without due process, the several padded budgets, the
$41 million Ikoyi Apartment scandal, the recall, reinstatement and
double promotion of pension thief and Buhari financier, Abdulrasheed
Maina, the N200 million grass cutter scandal, and many others too
numerous to mention.”
“The choice before Nigerians in 2019 is a simple one. Nigerians
have a choice of electing a lively candidate with a record of providing
50,000 jobs to Nigerians in his private capacity versus the
lifelessness (apologies to President Donald Trump) of a candidate under
whom Nigeria lost 11 million jobs and became the world headquarters for
extreme poverty.
“Nigerians have a choice of a man who will provide an efficient
and business-friendly solution to the herdsmen crisis and a man whose
government said ‘giving land for cattle ranching is better than death.”
“It is very obvious that faced with such a choice that
Nigerians would definitely vote for the man who will Get Nigeria Working
Again, hence we are not surprised by this desperate statement from the
Buhari administration that is so shameless that they made a man
implicated in framing a man of God on spurious charges as their
spokesman. If he can lie against a man of God, should Nigerians believe
anything he says about the PDP and its candidate?”