PDP Won’t Survive If I Lose In 2023 – Atiku Warns

• Urges BoT to back him or risk retirement

Nigeria’s Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar says elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should back his 2023 presidential ambition or be ready to bid farewell to party politics for good.

He pointedly told members of the Party’s Board of Trustees that another eight years in opposition will permanently confine PDP to the dustbin of political irrelevance going forward.

Speaking when he hosted the BoT members to Consultative meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the Wazirin Adamawa warned that early retirement beckons on the elders if they refuse his romance towards clinching the presidency in 2023.

Maintaining that the President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration that he served as the Vice President remains the best since 1999, Atiku told the BoT members their chances of remaining relevant in the polity lies in supporting him to become Nigeria’s next president come 2023.

“In 2023, it is either we retire together or we move on together”, he told the gathering, adding; “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 of us 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.

Recalling that the PDP is the oldest political party since the creation of Nigeria, Atiku reminded the BoT members that they were part of the party’s successes in the past, noting that “this is a very crucial, and historical moment in history” for the party’s survival.

“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 the government, PDP government 1999 to 2007”, he said.

The Wazirin Adamawa, who insisted that no administration, had recorded as much achievement as the PDP, said; “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.

“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”.

On zoning of political offices, Atiku urged PDP members to shun the arrangement, saying; “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.

“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.”

“So I thought I should disabuse your mind. 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.”

The 2019 PDP presidential flag-bearer said his vision of building bridges across the country remains strong, even as he urged the BoT members to be part of the bridge building process aimed at giving a sense of belonging to every part of the country.

Canvassing support for Atiku at the meeting, Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communication, Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi said of all Presidential aspirants, the former Vice President remains the most qualified.

According to him; “We have seen the list of candidates that have shown interest in the various parts of the country, but there’s none that has his credentials, his experience, his capacity and acceptance internationally and nationally.

“The Electoral Act talks of consensus but how do you go into compelling everyone to surrender their ambition? We must win the 2023 elections in this party and for future generations. What we are asking for is a level playing field.

“But the information reaching me now is not very palatable. This stage of attempting to divide this party. The information available includes that such persons who left the party, who are founding members of the party, will not be allowed to pursue their ambitions in the PDP”.