Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i on Friday criticised the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for dumping the All Progressives Congress (APC).He said that Atiku has made the greatest mistake made by the movement.
El-Rufai also said that Atiku is no threat to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor spoke with State House journalists after observing the Friday Juma’at prayers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
El Rufai said
“Well, I won’t even say we were in the APC together. Some of us formed the APC, some of them joined because they thought that the APC was a platform for which they would contest election. But when they didn’t get the opportunity, they started looking around.
“I have heard about what the former Vice President said about leaving the APC. We knew he was going to leave in December but he has left in November which is good because the earlier he leaves for where he belongs the better. He has changed political parties a few times, there is nothing surprising. Before the 2019 elections if situation changes and he thinks he can get the ticket in 2019 he will come back. That is what he has done a few times.
“No one has driven him out of the party. The APC is an equal opportunity platform for everyone. He has in his statement of leaving the party made reference to the memo I wrote to Mr. President in September 2016, where I was calling on the President to reach out to party leaders that feel aggrieved and I mentioned him, the Asiwaju and many others.
“The others are still in the APC because they believe in the direction of the party, they believe we have come to save the country from a very bad situation. But the former Vice President is always looking for an opportunity to contest. He is a serial contestant and we wish him luck.” he said
He said that Atiku will never be a threat to Buhari if they run for the Presidency in 2019.
“He has never been and will never be a threat to President Buhari. Let me say this very clearly, and I have said this to the former Vice President in 2014 Dubai when we met because before joining the APC he sent for me. He told me of his intentions and I welcomed it because politics is a game of addition not subtraction. So the more you have the merrier.
“However, I told him not to run for the presidency because I believe very strongly this is Buhari’s era. As long President Muhammadu Buhari is in politics I do not see any Nigerian from the northern part of the country that will be able to match him in popularity.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
