BY CHAMBERLAIN ODEY, JOS – In what some political observers are already describing as ‘bad market’ for his presidential ambition, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday openly embarrassed media men in Jos, the Plateau State capital in continuation of his engagement visit to State delegates ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries.
Literarily chasing journalists out of the venue where he was engaging the Plateau delegates and other party stakeholders, the PDP presidential aspirant openly display anger that journalists were allowed entry without his approval.
Some inside sources, who hinted on desperation by the Atiku’s campaign organization to quickly address dimming prospects of emerging the PDP’s presidential flag-bearer in the forthcoming primary election, said that could have explained the former Nigeria’s number two citizen venting his frustration on the media.
Arriving the Plateau State PDP Secretariat at about 2:19 pm, looking exhausted, the Wazirin Adamawa could not contain his visible angry at being confronted by the cream of media correspondents and cameramen as he twice barked fiercely at them and ordered them out of the hall saying; “I have nothing to do with journalists. I’m here to see delegates”.
Obviously fired by the curious aggression and frustration of their principal, Atiku’s aides and security details unleashed unrestrained attack on the media people which caused a serious stampede, with damage done to the tripod and camera of the Channels Television crew.
In the ensuing confusion, not even the intervention of host PDP officials and the delegates could calm the fuming visitor and his entourage frayed nerves.
Efforts to make a case for the journalists, who have been covering presidential aspirants’ visits to the delegates within the same Secretariat in the past three weeks, proved unsuccessful and the former Vice President’s aides refused to be pacified.
The development was a huge embarrassment not only to the journalists but also the Party supporters with many wondering what could have sparked off such hostility and disappointing conduct from the aspirant’s camp considering the critical moment facing all the contestants.
Some PDP insiders, who were clearly piqued by the development, told Forefront Online that the former Vice President might have been infuriated the media presence effectively disrupted his planned tete-a-tete with the delegates to woo their support for his ambition.
One of them, who refused to have his name in print for obvious reasons of being a delegate, said; “Clearly, these are desperate times which demands desperate measures. The media presence may have inadvertently stopped us, the delegates, from accessing pre-primary goodies on-the-spot that our visitor would have announced to wet our lips ahead of the convention date.
“One cannot deny the fact that some aspirants are well prepared and ready to explore all avenues to swing delegates’ votes in their favour.”
Another source said concerns over the uncompromising position of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) to back their compatriots in the South on zoning the presidency may have also fueled Team Atiku’s fears that the Plateau delegates’ bloc vote could easily elude him during the PDP primary.
With a total of 85 national delegates from Plateau, the former Vice President is said to be worried that unlike in the recent past where the State was his safe territory, things seem to have changed dramatically over the zoning discourse where the South East presidency in 2023 remains on the front burner with hush-hush arguments against having another Fulani taking over from President Buhari.
Additionally, there are arguments in some quarters that Atiku’s burden of trust, depleted public perception, and unfavorable national mood have been further worsened by developments around the gruesome killing of Deborah Samuel, a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, over alleged blasphemy.
After the initial condemnation of the savage murder of Deborah, Atiku quickly deleted the post on his Twitter and Facebook handles after being threatened by some persons on the comments’ sections, claiming that the tweeted statement was not authorized by him.
