Atiku shops for campaign DG, seeks Obasanjo’s endorsement

 Atiku shops for campaign DG, seeks Obasanjo’s endorsement

Atiku Abubakar

According to Sunday PUNCH, preparations are already being made for the inauguration of the campaign council of Peoples Democratic Party front-runner Atiku Abubakar.

This was stated by Paul Ibe, the PDP candidate's spokesperson, in a conversation with our Abuja-based correspondent.

Ibe claims that the council will be created in a fashion that allows PDP primary losers to be incorporated into the group.

On May 28, 2022, in Abuja, Atiku won the PDP's presidential primary contest with 371 votes, defeating Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, who received 237 votes.

Bukola Saraki, who received 70 votes, Sam Ohuanbunwa, 1, Anyim Pius Anyim, 14, Udom Emmanuel, 38, and Bala Mohammed, 20, are some of the other candidates who finished last in the contest.

The opposition party has been divided since Atiku was named the flag bearer. After he selected Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, as his running partner for the 2023 presidential election, the problem grew worse.

Ibe told our correspondent on Saturday that preparations were being made to launch the campaign council and name a director general. You must realize that this issue extends beyond Atiku. Everyone must participate. There are proposals to include other candidates who were unsuccessful in the primary.

There are hints that Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president, would support and publicly endorse Atiku in the interim.

In the 2019 general elections, Obasanjo had endorsed Atiku and Peter Obi as his running mates.

The former president referred to Atiku as "a man who has what it takes in experience, exposure, and lessons that he has learned" (I attempted to teach him a couple of them in a video that is currently circulating).

In contrast, Obasanjo claimed that picking Atiku as vice president was one of the two biggest errors he had ever made in a recent article.

Obasanjo said this in response to queries from pupils from particular secondary schools.

"Choosing my number two when I wanted to be President was one of the mistakes I made," he admitted. But God saved me because I really did make a mistake.

In a recent development, Dr. Victor Moses, National Publicity Secretary of the Atiku Support Organization, told Sunday PUNCH that real steps were being taken to ensure that "Baba Obasanjo" will support us.

If Obasanjo could support Atiku in 2019, he might do so in 2023, the speaker said.

"His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, holds Sir Olusegun Obasanjo in high regard. That is why he never responds to whatever Baba (Obasanjo) says.

"Atiku didn't answer out of respect even when Obasanjo declared that Atiku was one of the worst blunders he had ever made in his life.

"We're attempting to win his support because we would greatly value it. Atiku's mentor Obasanjo should be able to support him now since he was able to do so in 2019.

"We will disclose our strategies for doing so when the time is right. Obasanjo now appears to be backing a different candidate.

"Atiku is who he is today because Obasanjo appointed him governor of Adamawa and appointed him his vice president. Additionally, Atiku made a big contribution to Obasanjo's election as president. There was no sign of Obasanjo. Yar'Adua, Atiku, and the others battled for democracy, he claimed.

Moses urged anyone with information on Atiku's alleged corruption to come forward before Atiku "becomes the president."

"All these claims of theft and corruption against Atiku are false," he continued. Obasanjo's extensive investigations would have discovered Atiku if he had been a money thief. He has clean hands.

Due to all of these allegations, Atiku was among the public employees who were most thoroughly investigated. Despite all of these accusations, he was cleared. Atiku has urged anyone with accusations against him to come forward on multiple occasions.

In order to clear his name, he (Atiku) will go with them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Nobody is emerging.