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| former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar |
Atiku, who briefed journalists in Abuja on his plans for a formal declaration to contest for the presidency in 2015, said those pushing for the party’s automatic ticket are afraid of facing a democratic contest.
He added that the insecurity in the North-eastern region of the country should not give the federal government the alibi to deny the people of the region the opportunity to participate in elections, adding that it is not enough reason to stop elections from taking place in the zone.
While the appraising the state of affairs in APC, Atiku who rejected the appellation of new entrant into the opposition party, said so far, the internal democratic practice in the party is far better than what obtains in the PDP.
“For sure, the internal democracy we have in the APC is better than what we have in PDP. You can see that from the outcome of a few by-elections the party had conducted so far. I still believe that APC is far better than the PDP,” he said.
Speaking on a likely pairing against the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), he said the electorate would determine who wins. “Every candidate hopes to win an election but eventually, it is the electorate who will decide who makes it.
Remember I was a founding member of the Action Congress (AC), in fact I gave it it’s name before I later left for the PDP.
“Those who are canvassing for automatic ticket are scared of a contest. Why should we be canvassing for automatic ticket in a democratic process? Are they just scared of the contest? There is nothing like automatic ticket, they must have been coming from a background that is not so democratic in nature. It is not like the PDP where they have things like allocations
“ The electorate will determine who wins the presidential ticket through the primaries, and everybody is optimistic about his chance but eventually, it is the electorate that will determine who wins it that is the end of the story,” he said.
On the chances of the opposition against the PDP and the possibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a credible election in 2015, the former vice president said: “The reason PDP has been dominating is that the opposition has been fragmented.
“ But now, I think they are trying to come together. You can see basically we are moving towards a two-party system and then Nigerians in the opposition will now see that there is an alternative to run. Nigerians are sophisticated and have now seen that there is an alternative to PDP, so they can now decide to vote for that alternative.
“If the political parties, together with the electorate and non-governmental organisations are able to police INEC, the commission will have no alternative than to conduct a free and fair election.
“For sure, the internal democracy we have practiced within the APC is a better alternative than what is being done in the PDP. You can see that some of the primaries we have so far conducted in the party have been very transparent. I still believe that APC has a better image in terms of internal democracy.
“How can I be discouraged, you are just asking me to give up on Nigeria? But I will not, I don’t have any other place to go. So why should I give up on Nigeria? That is what you are asking me to do and I will not until I can no longer have the capacity or the strength to go on,” Atiku stated.
On what he will do if he eventually loses the bid to pick the APC presidential ticket, Atiku said he would do nothing but support the winner and the party to win the election.
On whether he is not frustrated enough in the quest to become Nigeria’s president after past unsuccessful attempts, he said: “Asking me if I am not frustrated will mean asking me to give up on Nigeria, which I am not prepared to do.”
Atiku said there was nothing unusual about what INEC has done by increasing the number of polling units, saying: “I think it is just a formality that the commission announced the increase, while in actual fact, such arrangement already existed where polling units were sub-divided to make for easy voting.”
On the issue of allowing the South-south to complete the eight years in order not to over-heat the polity, he said Nigerians should be left to choose their leaders from wherever he comes from, adding that he is an ardent democrat.
He spoke on the lingering insecurity in the North-east region, saying he is absolutely upset and angry about the lingering insecurity in the region.
According to him, the country prided itself as possessing a very strong and effective armed forces, adding that: “For such group to be allowed to cause such concern for about five years now is an embarrassment to our military, which has a reputation of greatness and resilience.
“I will kick against any move to stop elections in the affected states because if elections were held in places like Afghanistan, where there are more deadly terrorist attacks, there is no reason why we cannot hold elections in the North-east,” he said.
Atiku, who contested for the presidential ticket of the PDP in 2010 and lost to President Jonathan, told journalists that his formal declaration on September 24 will be meant for a selected audience.
Source: Thisday
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