Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar revealed that he would have opted for the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi as his running mate in the recently concluded presidential election if he had not left the PDP prior to the party’s primary election last year.
Atiku noted that the LP presidential candidate left the PDP in a rush when the primary election campaign started.
The PDP candidate made this revelation during a press conference on Thursday, March 2 in Abuja.
According to Atiku, Obi, a former governor of Anambra state was during the build up to the party’s presidential primaries scared by the insistence of the PDP incumbent governors to produce the presidential, vice presidential candidates and Chief of Staff within themselves.
He said, “I don’t have anything against Labour Party. When the campaign started, our PDP governors sat down and said they must produce the president, vice and the Chief of Staff and Peter (Obi) got scared and the left. But I stood up against the governors because when we formed the PDP some of them were in secondary School or university. So, why should I be afraid? They fought me and I fought them and I won the primaries.
“If he (Obi) was there nothing could have stopped him from being my running mate. So, the question of whether I would work with Peter or not or whether he wounded the PDP or not. Yes, he did (wounded the PDP) to some extent because all the votes he carried from the South South and South East were PDP’s votes. That is politics anyway. Whether he will achieve his objective or not is left to God to decide.”
He also spoke on wanting to be a stepping to stone to Igbo presidency.
“I also have it on record that when I ran in 2011, 2019 and 2023 I picked Igbo men as running mates simply because after my term I felt it is turn of the South East. I have always said that I will be a stepping stone to Igbo presidency because there is no zone that can produce president on its own in this country. I always tell my Igbo compatriots that, look, you negotiate power , you don’t fight for it.” Atiku stressed.
Atiku lost the presidential election held last Saturday to his former ally, Bola Ahmed Tinubu with about 1.8 votes margin.
