**Says party may disintegrate if it looses 2023 election
**Insists not against South East candidacy
By Myke Uzendu
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has warned that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 2023 as it’s last chance to enter the Presidential Villa or the party may disintegrate.
Atiku expressed worry that politicians gravitate towards the ruling party, adding that the next general election provides another opportunity for the party to return to it’s winning ways or go into political oblivion.
The Waziri Adamawa gave the warning on Tuesday during an interaction between the Presidential hopeful and members of party’s Board of Trustees(BoT) at the Yar’adua Centre, Abuja to lobby for their support.
Atiku who convocked the meeting said it is either the party wins the next election or most members of the BoT will be retired from active politics as losers.
“I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years. By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments. Ordinary people naturally gravitate towards government. So this is a very, very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival. I want you to think about it”.
Atiku explained that his meeting is to woo BoT members to buy into his Presidential aspiration. He said that he has the capacity and experience to move the country forward adding that most BoT members may be retired from politics if his aspiration does not materialize.
“We are now at a crucial moment in this country. Many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together” he told the BoT members.
The aspirant said that PDP administration which he served as Vice President, did a lot to build the country when it was in office, arguing that the APC administration has done nothing close to the legacies left behind by the PDP administration.
“Very many of you were part of our political successes in 1998 – 99 and also, many of you were part of the success story of government, PDP government 1999 to 2007. Today, no administration since then, had made as much achievement as our administration.
“Therefore, you are not only the fathers of our great party you are also the bedrock of those achievement.
“What I’m saying is based on facts, take any aspect of our growth whether it is economy, whether it is healthcare, whether it is agriculture, whether it is education, the landmark achievements we made in 1999 to 2007 have not been matched by any subsequent administration”.
He said that the PDP had always had a locked down 12million votes at every election adding that the party will garner more votes if members of the BoT support his political voyage to the villa.
“Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes. In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes”.
On the allegation that he is working against the zoning of the President ticket to the South East, Atiku said,
“Yes, people have not stopped talking about power rotation and zoning, or whatever it is. In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning.
“Many of you were members of our government when all the PDP governors came in 2003 and said I should run and I said no. We have agreed that power should remain in the Southwest, Why should I. Some of those governors that supported me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices, we made sure that we kept the policy.
“Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy. The many years of PDP government eight years and six years all of them were from the south. So we should not be stampeded by the opposition party. They have a moral obligation which is inescapable”.
“Some say the South East have not been given the chance. When I joined the ACN which my friend Bola set up, he gave me a set of condition for giving me the ticket that I should make him vice president. I said no, I’m not going to make you Vice President instead i took Senator Ben.
“When I got the ticket again to run, I took another Obi coincidentally. So there is absolutely no reason why they should say that there is adeliberate attempts to exclude the South East in political participation or power sharing.
“So I thought I should disabused your mind and of course, as an enlightened political class. I don’t think there’s any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country”.
On his agenda for the country when elected into office, he continued,
“My vision is building bridges across the country. Please join me in building bridges across this country so that every part of this country will have a sense of belonging.
“I now wish to call on you to please give me another opportunity to advance all these ideas of our party, well beautiful ideas. So that we will come further to consolidate democracy, unity and development for our country. I cannot thank you enough for coming”.
Adding his voice, Raymond Dokoesi who is the Director General of Atiku Abubakar Campaign Council raised alarm over plans to exclude Atiku die to his earlier exit from the party.
He called on BoT members to disregards all the ethnic and religious sentiments whipped against the candidacy of Atiku just as he charged them to always keep at the back of their minds the vision of the founding fathers in the choice of the Presidential Candidate.
He said, “We have seen the list of candidates that have shown interest the various parts of the country but there’s none that has his credentials, his experience, his capacity and acceptance internationally and nationally.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jubrin assured that the BoT will ensure that a level playing field is made available to enable all aspirants to actualise their ambition.
