by Musa Abdullahi
Nigeria’s Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has collapsed all his structures for the re-election of Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan says a Presidential source who confided in NewsWireNGR about what transpired at the meeting.
The anonymous source who doesn’t want to be mentioned said ” the deal has been done and you don’t expect the former VP to go to the press to announce it, for his interests, he’s agreed to back Jonathan but pleaded not to go out to the Press.
When asked during the telephone conversation with our correspondent why Atiku was seen on television with All Progressives Congress candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari after backing Jonathan behind camera, he said “of course that is politics at it’s best, all funded structures of Atiku are now for Jonathan and that’s how much I can reveal”.
About 120 Atiku Abubakar Support Groups formally defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday in Abuja. This came barely 24 hours after former members of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) joined the PDP.
The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, Professor Rurfai Alkali, while speaking at a cer-emony where the support groups were welcomed to the PDP, said the former vice president was on sabbatical in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Alkali pointed out that Atiku is a core PDP members and that the defection of his supporters to PDP was an indication that Atiku would soon return to the ruling party.
He said: “Atiku is a PDP man to the core but he has gone on vacation and I believe one day he too will come back to the party. “My only prayer is that he comes back before the general election this year so that he can support Mr. President fully to ensure our success”. Alkaki accused the APC of opportunism, stressing that the party takes credit for some reforms and executive decisions taken by the Jonathan administration.
He said: “In 2007, this government initiated electoral reforms and you recall various opposition parties opposed the reforms. When Justice Mohammed Uwais was appointed the chairman they opposed it, most of them refused to submit memoranda, most of them refused to appear in person to make any proposal for the reform. “But once the Electoral Act was brought in they were the same people who started jubilating that they were part of the process for the electoral reforms.
I think this is sheer opportunism. “When Mr President appointed Prof Attahiru Jega as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission again the opposition fought against Jega. They said this man has come to do the bidding of Mr President. Today they want to claim Jega as their own man, they want to dictate to him what he is to do today and what he is going to do tomorrow. Again this is evidence of opportunism. “We are dealing with desperate politicians and we should not be part of that”, he added. He commended members of the 120 Abubakar support groups for dumping the APC for the ruling party and implored them to ensure they obtain their permanent voters cards. “You have moved away from darkness to light.
There is a big difference between a man moving around with brooms from a man who is living under umbrella, a colourful umbrella for that”, he said. Also speaking, the Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who received the group on behalf of the party`s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu assured them of equal opportunity with other members of the party.
Secondus said: “You are all in the right place, and I want to assure you that you have equal right with those who had been here for long. You are free to involve and engage in all the party activities and especially at this time when we are on the campaign and election is coming,’’ he said.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, described the APC, as a party that was made up of characters that were not compatible.
