The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has visited the governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose to confer with him as one of the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Referring to the letter written by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek a relection, Atiku declined commenting on it.
Rather Atiku said that he would discuss his ambition with governor Fayose whom he described as a force to reckon with in PDP, saying: “he 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. 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.
“I have seen what you have achieved and your footprints are all over the state capital, I commend you for that and for your leadership, I believe you have quite a lot to offer for our country.
“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 the foresight and wants a someone to continue his good works”.
Fayose, who also described Atiku’s ambition as legitimate and a welcome development, said: 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 play 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 party’s candidate will be supported by others”.
Assuring the former VP that his return to PDP would yield fruits, Fayose said:” 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.
Taking a critical swipe at Buhari’s government and Obasanjo’s outburst, Fayose said:” I am not disappointed because I never voted for Buhari and I will never stop being against him. I was not too young when Buhari came the 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 the ldiagbon that were 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 to the APC, our suppressors and oppressors. You can only rule a country as diverse as Nigeria if you are truly a leader.
“Currently, 45% reduction in the economic situation, I can tame herdsmen effectively. Tell everyone, if you vote APC, second and a final suffering is what you are inviting.”
