Atiku: Obasanjo Laughs
ERSTWHILE President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, mocked the prospect of his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, becoming the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Obasanjo’s derision came as President Goodluck Jonathan asserted that Atiku should be in jail and had no moral right to speak on the economy on account of his alleged culpability in sabotaging the economy while he was in government.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo on his part dismissed suggestions of a Northern consensus presidential aspirant for the PDP affirming that the development was strange to the party and democracy.
Meanwhile, Atiku was also disowned at home by the Adamawa State government which flayed the process of his emergence as ancient and anti-democratic.
Reflective of the perceived lack of enthusiasm for Atiku by Northern governors, Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, said the North would speak on its presidential aspirant in due season.
Also yesterday, South-South coordinators of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation dismissed Atiku’s viability describing him as a regional politician in contrast to Jonathan whom they described as a national candidate.
A moment of relief for Atiku, however, was the endorsement he received from his long time associate and friend, former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu. The endorsement is believed to have been especially welcomed on the basis of claims that Ayu was preparing the ground for his own presidential campaign.
Obasanjo’s comical reaction
President Obasanjo’s comical reaction to Atiku came on the fringes of the Council of State’s meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a chat with reporters.
Asked to comment on the choice of Atiku, Obasanjo after adjusting his white coloured agbada brought out his Vicks inhaler and inhaled in both nostrils and thereafter burst out laughing “I dey laugh.”
After about one minute, he again said: “I am full of joy and I wish you (journalists) and Nigerians the fullness of joy. I wish you peace and joy always.” The reporters echoed: “Amen”.
Shema derides choice
Governor Shema who was in the same Council of State meeting equally pooh-poohed suggestions of Atiku’s choice as reflective of the Northern political establishment.
His session with State House correspondents ran thus:
“What’s your view on Atiku?
He is a presidential aspirant.
But, he is standing in for the North?
You have to ask the North
But you are a key member of the North?
Yes, I am but you have to ask the North because I am not the only person in the North.
What’s your personal view?
My view? The North will talk.”
Speaking to newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Vice-President Sambo affirmed that the PDP would use its constitution in choosing its presidential candidate even as he flayed the process adopted by the Ciroma as undemocratic.
Sambo asked: “Who said that there is a consensus candidate for the North, who said so?
Because we are not aware of any northern consensus candidate because our understanding differs and the North has no consensus candidate for this election for PDP.
PDP has constitutional avenues, we have our constitution of the party on how we select our candidate for our different positions for election.
“And just two days ago INEC presented the timetable which I can assure you the PDP will follow that time table. We will follow the constitutional processes for the election of our candidate.”
‘Atiku should have been in jail’
Responding through the Director of Research and Strategy in the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Mr. Mike Omeri, Jonathan expressed shock that Atiku could be talking about the economy despite his role in eroding the health of the economy during his time as Vice-President.
Affirming that Atiku should rather be in jail on account of his alleged misdeeds, the campaign organisation said:
“We are all witnesses to the kind of economy Atiku ran as Vice President when he mortgaged our common heritage to himself and his cronies. Atiku is the least person to talk about economy he ran aground.
He lacked the moral standing and should be schooled on basic economies. Jonathan is only working hard to clean the mess of corruption bequeathed by Atiku.
“It is sad that Atiku who ordinarily should be behind bars for bringing the nation’s economy to its knees when he supervised the selling of our collective wealth in the guise of privatisation would have the temerity to speak ill of a hard working President like Goodluck Jonathan.”
Source: Vanguard Newspapers
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