Former White House Official Speaks On Atiku’s Chances In 2019

A former National Intelligence Officer at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the White House, Judd Devermont, has spoken on the possibility of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, defeating President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.

Devermont, who is the current Director of Africa Programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, has wondered if Atiku will eventually realize his vision to become the number one citizen of Nigeria having tried and failed twice as presidential candidate and three times as an aspirant at party level.

The former Senior Foreign Policy Analyst to United States Government appears to be following closely recent political events in the country, especially as it pertains to the 2019 general elections.

Prior to the outcome of the special national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced Atiku as the main opposition party’s 2019 presidential standard-bearer, Devermont had asked: “Will Nigeria’s PDP select a credible candidate to challenge President Buhari? Will failed candidates rally around the party’s nominee? This weekend’s party convention will provide some initial answers.”

Following the former Vice President’s emergence as the PDP presidential flagbearer, the foreign policy analyst again asked in a tweet: “Atiku Abubakar is the PDP’s candidate. It is his 2nd bid as a party nominee and 5th overall attempt for presidency. A growing number of African opposition leaders have won elections on their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th try. Will he succeed as Akufo-Addo, IBK, Bio, Farmajo, and Weah have?”

Devermont’s poser may be an indication that the international community may have seen in Atiku a strong challenger that will likely give President Buhari a run for his money.

Meanwhile, locally, the upcoming 2019 presidential election has been adjudged a tough battle that will see “two eagles” that at some point belonged to the same political party test their strengths on different platforms.

A former running mate of President Buhari, who is the Senior Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakar, said of Atiku’s candidacy for the 2019 Presidency: “I congratulate him (Abubakar), he makes the issue in 2019 more robust.”

Bakare said, “It is not going an eaglet versus an eagle but an eagle versus eagle: an old eagle versus new eagle and probably both of them old eagles. I wish president Muhammadu Buhari the best in 2019,” adding that, “He has the power of incumbency and he will do his best to win the election, but Atiku is not going to take No for an answer when the two forces collide in the election,” he said.