Atiku begins consultations with governors, stakeholders, others

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is intensifying consultations among governors and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 polls.
The consultations, according to sources are aimed at making the party stronger preparatory to his declaration of interest in the 2019 Presidential elections on the platform of the PDP.
It was gathered that Atiku who a fortnight ago announced his return to the PDP, used the window offered by the recently held elective national convention of the party to meet with governors elected on the platform of the party.
Apart from governors, the former Vice President also met with some former and serving members of the National Assembly, ex- ministers and other stakeholders of the party.
Although details of the meetings remain sketchy, they might not be unconnected with his reported 2019 Presidential ambition, a source said.
A member of the National PDP Professional and Business Group (NPPBG), the professional and business wing of the party, told Vanguard that the Waziri Adamawa is “Going about his ambition in a very decent manner,” adding that at the appropriate time, Nigerians will hear from him.
“Politicians meet all the time and so, what happened (the meeting) was no different. But one thing you cannot take away from Waziri is his political maturity and understanding of the game.
“You saw him during the convention and how he stayed put until winners were announced. This goes to show his level of passion for the party and his belief in the ability of the party to regain power in 2019,” he said.
On the recently concluded convention, the source quoted Atiku as saying that the new National Working Committee should be supported by all organs of the party to oust the APC in the next general election.
His worrds: “The former Vice President did not fail to say that things should be done the right way. We must support the Uche Secondus-EXCO because for the first time, we are going into an election as an opposition party,” noting that the Abuja meetings were at best “Preliminary” as he (Atiku) will continue to interface with party leaders and stakeholders.
“Let us not tie these meetings to 2019 alone and do not forget that there is 2018 in between. For a man of his stature, these meetings are expected,” he added.
Atiku alongside Nigeria’s immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan are currently championing reconciliation of aggrieved members who lost out at the convention on Saturday.
Though, the former number two citizen is yet to visit the aggrieved members unlike Jonathan, he is reported to have personally spoken to all chairmanship candidates, admonishing them to work with Secondus in the overall interest of the party.