Atiku Reveals Why He Didn’t Pick Tinubu As Running Mate in 2007 Presidential Contest
- Details have emerged on the political horse-trading that went on the now-defunct Action Congress in the months leading up to the 2007 presidential election
- Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar ran on the platform, contested and lost to Late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
- Atiku has now revealed how he staved off pressure to choose Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his running mate then
FCT, Abuja - Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday, March 15 disclosed that he refused to make former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu his running mate in 2007.
At a meeting with members of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, Atiku made it clear that when he defected to Tinubu’s then Action Congress (AC) in 2006, he was asked to choose the former Lagos state governor as his running mate but he refused.
Source: Twitter
The Guardian newspaper quoted him as saying:
“When I joined the AC, which my friend, Bola, set up, he gave me a set of conditions for giving me the ticket. He said that I should make him vice president. I said no, I am not going to make you vice president; instead, I took Ben Obi.”
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Atiku said under the PDP in 2019, he chose Peter Obi, another southeastern to run with him, noting that the insinuation that he is excluding the southeast in his political activities is false.
2023: Atiku speaks on his respect for zoning
ThisDay newspaper also quoted the former vice president as saying the reason he did not run against former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, was because he wanted to keep the zoning policy of the PDP.
Atiku also said the south had ruled Nigeria more times than the north since the country returned to democracy.
2023: Plot to stop Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwal thickens in PDP
Meanwhile, a recent report by a national newspaper indicates that confusion broke out at the PDP national caucus meeting on Monday night, March 14 forcing the party's national chairman, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu to abruptly reschedule proceedings.
According to the report, the uproar at the meeting was triggered by the insistence of some leaders from the south that members, who defected from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the past and returned, should be excluded from seeking the 2023 presidential ticket.
A vocal governor from the south, according to sources, spearheaded the call.
2023: Northern Youth Council endorses Goodluck Jonathan
In a related development, the president of the Northern Youth Council, Dr. Isah Abubakar has stated that the group has endorsed former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the next president of the country.
Dr. Abubakar stated this on Saturday, March 12 when he appeared on a news programme on Arise TV.
He also commended the various groups that have been clamouring for the return of the former president to Aso Rock in 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
