”We were not part of it” – Atiku, Tambuwal
Former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, have denied being part of the process leading to the selection of any Northern consensus candidate.
In separate statements issued by their media teams in Abuja, the two leading aspirants for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 Presidential ticket, stated that they were never a party to the Northern consensus arrangement.
The ‘Technical Committee for the actualisation of Atiku Abubakars Presidency in 2023‘, in the statement, stated that the former vice-president was not bound by the outcome of the declaration.
We urge our supporters to continue with consultations and town hall meetings with delegates across the country as the party prepares for the presidential primaries scheduled for Saturday/ Sunday, May 28 and 29, 2022, it stated.
The statement described Atiku Abubakar as a nationalist, “who strongly believes that Nigeria has never been so divided as it is today; and any regional, zonal, ethno-religious gang-up or consensus-driven in this manner will further deepen and widen the wounds that urgently require to be healed”.
Similarly, the Tambuwal Campaign Organisation (TCO), in a statement, titled: Consensus Drive Failed, Im Not Part of Any Agreement, quoted Tambuwal as saying he was absent from the Friday meeting at Minna, Niger State, following an earlier conclusion on Wednesday that the consensus approach had failed.
He also observed that contrary to the resolution which produced two consensus candidates, what was canvassed for was one consensus candidate and not two.
The statement, which was signed by the TCO’s Director, Organisation and Mobilisation, Nicholas Msheliza, said Governor Tambuwal further
stated that having submitted his Presidential nomination forms and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries.
This is in consonance with his acclaimed outlook as a pan-Nigerian candidate, with a pedigree of national service as the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, life member of the Body of Benchers, and now in his second and final term as Governor of Sokoto State.
Recall that the Ango Abdullahi-led Northern group, had at a press conference in Minna on Friday, announced the group has selected Gov. Bala Mohammed, of Bauchi State, and former Senate President Bukola Saraki as Northern consensus candidates for the PDP, ahead of the partys primaries slated for May 29, 2022.
