''I will re-contest the PDP Presidential Election with Jonathan''-Atiku

Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the weekend cleared the air over his future political ambition by saying he is ready to contest in the2015 Presidential Election under the platform of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party.Abubakar, who was the Northern consensus candidate that contested the PDP primary election with President Goodluck Jonathan, said his ambition to rule Nigeria would depend on a number of factors, which he refused to mention.

The former Vice President, who spoke with journalists in Abuja had vowed not to form any alliance with the opposition parties, particularly, the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] again.

However, it was gathered that his political supporters led by Otuba Oyewole Fasawe in the South West has commenced campaign towards ensuring the acceptability of Abubakar by the PDP leaders in the region.

The supporters are particularly working on how to ensure that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo whom Abubakar served with as the Vice-President, endorses him for the party ticket Abubakar will be the first Northerner to have openly declared his intention to run for the Presidential election under the platform of PDP. Already, Northerners are agitating that the power must return to their region in 2015.

It will be recalled that the two terms Vice-President began the race to rule this nation in 2006 by using all his machineries to secure a PDP ticket. His failure to grab the ticket under this platform, forced him out of PDP’s fold and this led to the formation of the Action Congress in conjunction with Alliance for Democracy leaders.

Abubakar lost the poll to the late President Umaru Y’adua who was the Presidential candidate of the PDP. He made a swift return to PDP to struggle for the ticket again for 2011 Presidential election, but he lost the opportunity to the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

While reacting to this, the Political Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Ahmed Gulak, has said the former vice-president and other members of the party have the right to contest in the 2015 Presidential election.

According to him, “Atiku is private individual ;the directive by the president that people should engage less in 2015 bickering because of the attendant distractions concerns only those in government,as well people of good conscience who share the same spirit with the president.

“As an individual, if Abubakar says he has decided to polish his sandals and run, we can only wish him well because it is the inalienable right of every Nigerian, including Atiku, to run for the highest office in any place they find themselves,”