ATIKU: Obasanjo Has No Option But To Support Me, Not Obi

– I Miss Peter Obi, Says Atiku

Amid speculations of a renewed rift between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar has said his former boss (Obasanjo) has no option but to support him against other aspirants vying for the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

Atiku, who enjoyed Obasanjo’s support in the 2019 presidential election, is believed to no longer be in the good books of the former president after he (Obasanjo) recently revisited his past grudges with his former vice.

THE WHISLER reported that Obasanjo had said picking Atiku was one of the biggest mistakes of his life that God saved him from.

Ahead of the 2019 election, Obasanjo was reported to have reconciled with Atiku with the intervention of some prominent Christian and Islamic leaders. Their rift was believed to have stemmed from Atiku’s rejection of the former president’s alleged attempt to amend Nigeria’s constitution to enable him to stay in office beyond the constitutionally allowed two four-year terms.

During an Arise TV interview monitored by THE WHISTLER on Friday, Atiku sounded unsure about having Obasanjo’s backing for his 2023 ambition.

When asked if he has the former president’s support for his presidential bid, the former vice president said “I assume I have it” adding “I don’t think he has a better person to support than myself because I have his legacies to continue.”

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) admitted that since he lost the 2019 election, he has not visited or met with Obasanjo physically.

“I have been talking to him, the only thing is that I didn’t go to him,” he said.

— I Miss Peter Obi —

Atiku, in 2019, had picked the current presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, as his running mate. But for his sixth attempt at the presidency, he recruited Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.

The 75-year-old admitted that he misses Obi with whom he secured 11.2 million votes in the 2019 presidential candidate. He suggested that he could have picked Obi as his running mate but noted that the former Anambra governor did not “consult me” before dumping the PDP to declare for president on the Labour Party platform.

Comparing Obi to Okowa, Atiku said “Well they are two different people. Not that I don’t miss Peter Obi, but unfortunately Peter didn’t consult me. We were going on and on then suddenly I heard he has announced being in the Labour Party.

“I think he informed me three days after he declared for Labour Party, So he did not even consult me.”

Speaking further on why he picked Okowa, Atiku said: “First of all, this is a guy that is very brilliant (and) very very educated. He started his political career from his local government, from local government to a commissioner, from a commissioner to a senator and from a Senator to a governor. So, in terms of all the political parameters, he really has got the experience and experience matters quite a lot.

“As I announced in my statement, I am seeking for a vice president who from day one can be a president. So, he is calm, he has acquired quite an experience and he is intellectually brilliant. So, these are some of the reasons why I picked him.”

On Obi’s chances at the polls, Atiku said “I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take much votes from the PDP as people are speculating. They have no structure at all levels, with no governor, and lawmakers.

“It will take a miracle for Labour Party with no structure in the grassroots to win the election.

“They had said through the social media they have one million votes in Osun State but how many votes do they have in real life?

“In the northern part of the country, about 90 percent of people don’t have access to social media. Most of the electorates are not on social media,” he said.