2019 Elections: Atiku Visits Fayose, Reacts To Obasanjo’s Letter To Buhari

File Photo: Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday visited the governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose to discuss his ambition to become the president in 2019.

Atiku, who held a meeting with Fayose behind closed-doors, said he had developed a good relationship with the governor, whom he described as a leader in the party that can not be relegated.

Atiku said Fayose “calls the shots and when he does so, we all take the queue. Since my return home to PDP this is the first state I am visiting for consultations with party leaders.”

He stated further, “This is not surprising as Fayose and I had struck a good relationship since his first tenure as governor and I was VP. He is blunt and straightforward, a sharpshooter in politics and I respect him for that this.

“But above all, he is also the chairman of our governors forum. Today, among the governors, among the party generally, he calls the shots and when he does so, we all take the queue.”

He also commended Fayose for his overwhelming performance in office.

He said, “Another unique thing the governor has done is telling me that his deputy is being supported as the party candidate in the next election, this is a very rare feat in the democratic system of our country. How many deputy governors have succeeded their governors? It means he has foresight and wants someone to continue his good works.”

Fayose, therefore, said Atiku’s ambition is legitimate, reiterating that whoever emerges as PDP’s presidential candidate would be supported.

“Vice President Atiku has not spoken to me privately about his ambition, and maybe he would do that in our private meeting. But his body language obviously shows he has an ambition which is legitimate. We will all examine everybody and we will have a level playing ground, as he has come, others will still come.

“I have paid my dues, I am not a hidden voice. I have all it takes to lead this country, but whichever way it goes, the interest of our party comes first, it is above our individual aspiration. Whoever the party finally picks as the party’s candidate will be supported by others.”

“I want to assure you that we only have leadership in Abuja, real party is in the states and at the local government level, we have done it before, we will do it again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Atiku, at the end of the meeting reacted to the statement by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari, saying, “The letter was a personal issue between two individuals, so I won’t like to comment on it. However, the letter confirmed that the APC government under Buhari has failed Nigerians.”

Fayose, also in his reaction, said he would never stop to oppose Buhari, stressing that the end has come for APC.

“I will never stop being against him. I was not too young when Buhari came first time and we knew the hell he took us through. At his first time, he was putting people in jail and he was not in charge, it was ldiagbon that was in charge. The man is dark in the mind.

“Now the message has come from Obasanjo, who was Buhari’s greatest promoter and navigator, telling him to go home. The end has come for the APC, our suppressors and oppressors. You can only rule a country as diverse as Nigeria if you are truly a leader.

“I can tame herdsmen effectively. Tell everyone, if you vote APC, second and final sufferings is what you are inviting,” he said.