… Says, retirement is imminent
By Ben Ogbemudia, Abuja
The former Vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday begged the Board of Trustees if the People’s Democratic Party to give him another chance to flag the party ticket for 2023 election.

Atiku pleaded for the party ticket when he play host to the BoT members at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua center, Abuja.

Atiku said he was worried and everyone of them should be worried too that if they do not win, it means they will be in opposition again for the next eight years.

” By the next eight years, I don’t know how many was 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.

“Yes, people have not stopped talking about power rotation and zoning, or whatever it is. For sure 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
say no. We have a greed that power should remain in the Southwest, Why should I. Some of those governors them that support me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices we made sure that we kept policy.

“So, 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.

“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.

” Some say he said you have not been given the chance. When I joined the ACN which my friend Bola we setting 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 lighting political class. I don’t think that for me, as far as this party is concerned, as far as we’re concerned. I don’t think there’s any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country.

“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.

“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. it’s my pleasure today this morning to warmly welcome you to the Yar’adua other center. Honestly, I had a sense of nostalgia this morning, because some of us had political and personal relationship that have predated the formation of PDP. And very many of you are founding members of our party.

“I want to welcome you very warmly. I want to appreciate the time you have taken to come all the way from your respective destinations for this meeting. our party today happens to be the oldest political party since the creation of this country, starting from the first of October 1960. And before that, no political party has existed as long as twenty years for as long as the PDP, whatever may be the outcome, left a legacy, a political history in this country and you are a part of that legacy.

“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.

Ekiti 2022: I “ll sustain Fayemi’s LCDAs – Oni

“Your excellences, friends, brothers and sisters, 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.

” 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. “