All Progressives Congress leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that it is the Peoples Democratic Party that owes him a debt of gratitude and not the other way around.
He made the statement in response to remarks from PDP National Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh who said that Atiku should be grateful for the PDP which provided him a platform on which to become Vice President of Nigeria.
He said, “If the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP doesn’t have the knowledge of how the party came into being, then it will be in order that he goes into the archives and read about the history of the party and the roles certain individuals, particularly former Vice President Atiku Abubakar played in building the party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar does not owe the PDP. Rather, it is the PDP that owes him a debt of thanks. Where were Metuh and his paymasters when the PDP was in its formative stage? If he and his paymasters came as free riders into the party, that shouldn’t mean they have the licence to distort history.
“The demagogic outburst and the repeated innuendoes by which the PDP has been nursing its wounds following the exit of its founding fathers will do no good for the party to reverse the trend of how it is fast losing acceptability by the Nigerian people.”
Atiku also commiserated with the people of Katsina, Kaduna, Benue and Borno concerning the violent attacks in their state that resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
He added, “Nigerians need good governance. They need to be told how the only country we all call home can be safe for each and every one of us. Nigerians need a political party that will work on the parlous state of the country’s economy and restore financial confidence to Nigerians who work hard to support their families. The youths of Nigeria need a political party that can give them a direction to the future.
“There are very many challenges besetting the country today and it will be incongruous that a political party in government will ignore these challenges and continue to vituperate over individuals who have deserted its fold to join forces with other political parties better suited to provide solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the country.”