Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he is the stepping stone for Igbo to become president of Nigeria.
Atiku said this at a PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu on Tuesday.
But the presidential candidate’s comment is open-ended — not saying whether in four or eight years if he becomes president in 2023.
“I have three Igbo children and I am saying this for the very first time in public. So, my relationship with Ndigbo did not start today,” Atiku said.
Speaking on his choice of running mates of Igbo orgin, he said: “I’ve had close relationship with the Igbos and this influenced my choices of Senator Ben Obi and Mr. Peter Obi as my running mates in my two previous outings as presidential candidate. Again, I have chosen another great Igbo here (Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa) for the third time as my running mate.”
He also added: “The second Niger Bridge in Onitsha is not a favour to the Southeast, rather it is or should be seen as a favour to Nigeria. This is because it is not only the people of the Southeast that use the bridge.”
Reacting to the statement of the PDP presidential candidate, Festus Keyamo, spokesman of the APC presidential campaign council, said: “Your Excellency, the 14 Northern APC Govs. did not tell these tales by moonlight. They enforced power-shift to the South within our Party instantly this year. It’s not too late for you to honour the power-shift arrangement in your own Constitution by stepping down now.
# Loriiro.”
The presidential campaigns will formally begin on Wednesday.
