Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s bid to rule the nation come 2019 has notched higher following a secret meeting he had with former President Goodluck Jonathan
According to reports, the meeting was initiated by the Turakin Adamawa with both leaders agreeing that all options should be kept open as the political dynamics of the country remained fluid, requiring a more pragmatic approach to the upsurge in politicking, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warned against last week.
The electoral empire’s National Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, had cautioned politicians against political campaigns for 2019, saying the ban on electioneering was yet to be lifted in accordance with Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
But Jonathan was said to have advised Atiku to consider returning to the PDP early enough to avoid being caught by certain provisions of the party’s constitution, which stipulate a period of time a member has to spend in the party before he could be eligible to contest for a political office.
“Atiku was advised to return early to enable him to fulfil the eligibility condition in the party’s constitution and also have ample time to integrate his political structure into the PDP’s,” a source privy to the meeting said.
The source said it was made clear to Atiku that he stood a better chance to realise his ambition in the PDP than the APC since President Muhammadu Buhari looked set to be given a right of first refusal by his party’s leadership.
According to the source: “He was told to note a recent comment by the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, stating that as the incumbent, President Buhari had a right of first refusal even when the decision would have to be his.
“That has been buoyed by Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai who had practically launched Buhari’s re-election campaign.”
Referring to the reactions of the APC leadership and stalwarts to the recent declaration of support for his presidential ambition by the Minister of Women Affairs and Youth Development, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, the source said it was made clear to Atiku that there was nothing left for him in the APC and that he should just return to the PDP where he could reunite more easily with other founding fathers who were eager to rebuild the party.
Meanwhile, key leaders of the PDP were in talks with Atiku over his possible return to the party he co-founded in 1998.
But the former vice president was said to have insisted on some conditions to be met before he could dump the APC for the PDP. This included an assurance that he would get the party’s presidential without a contest.
Findings had shown that several governors in the PDP, especially Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State who had also declared his presidential intention, were willing to allow Atiku return to the PDP. Party sources had claimed that Fayose would not mind positioning for the vice presidency candidacy as Atiku was a strong politician who looked ready to take over power.