If I Lose Presidential Ticket, I Will Work for PDP’s Victory, Says Atiku

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

A former Vice President and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday said he would continue to work for the success of the party even if he does not win its presidential ticket.

Atiku was speaking in Katsina State, when he visited the state secretariat of the party to seek the support of delegates in the state ahead of the party’s presidential primary.

He said, “I am a democrat; so, even if I lose the party’s ticket, i will work for any candidate that wins for the success of my party. The most important thing in this country is for us to agree to return PDP to power.

“We have seen PDP and APC; then, we see that we are better off under a PDP administration than an APC administration. So, I will work for any candidate that emerges victorious for the success of PDP in this country,” he said.

Atiku further disclosed that whether he become the presidential candidate or not he will always discharge his obligations in line with the party’s constitution.

However, the former vice president said free and transparent primaries would boost the party’s chances not only in the presidential election, but also in helping the PDP to regain its lost glory.

Explaining why he is vying for the presidential seat, Atiku, said the country is bedeviled with insecurity, unstable economy and lack of unity among Nigerians, hence his decision to tackle the problems.

“Security, economy and unity are very important. We are lacking all of them. When this government came into office three years ago, it inherited a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from PDP of about seven per cent.

“The very first year, they crashed it and we went into recession. Currently, we are under two per cent”.

While lamenting on what he described as high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, the former vice president said: “Over 12 million young men and women are unemployed today”, promising to better the lives of Nigerians if given the mandate.

According to him, “There is high level of disunity among Nigerians today, because they came in with a very narrow perspective of national representation”.

Earlier, the state Chairman of PDP, Hon. Salisu Yusuf Majigiri, said PDP as a party would abide by the rules and regulations guiding its primaries, and called for mutual understanding among the aspirants.