2019: Atiku weeps

A former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday wept while speaking to some of his supporters.

Mr Abubakar was responding to the supporters who had purchased a Peoples Democratic Party presidential nomination form for him.

Support groups of the former vice president purchased and presented the nomination and expression of interest forms to Mr Abubakar, urging him to contest for the ticket of the PDP in the 2019 election.

The groups, who stormed the headquarters of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation in Wuse 2 area of Abuja with the forms they had earlier picked at the PDP national secretariat, said that they resolved to tax themselves to raise the funds for the PDP forms as expression of their commitment to support Atiku in his 2019 presidential bid.

Leaders of the groups who spoke at the presentation ceremony extolled the democratic credentials of the former vice president while reaffirming their belief that Mr Abubakar has the experience and the capacity to steer the ship of the country into a brighter future from 2019.

Adekemi-Adesanya Eboda, national president and global coordinator for Women and Youth Support for Atiku (WAYS), in her remarks said that Nigerians particularly women are looking up to Mr Abubakar to salvage the country from the quagmire of the APC-led maladministration

“I speak the voice of millions of mothers in Nigeria who bear the brunt of the gale of jobs losses in the country and I speak on behalf of women of this country urging you to rescue Nigeria from this current bad situation. And to show you that we are solidly behind you, we have chosen to purchase your nomination form and expression of interest form from the PDP to contest for president in 2019 and we shall give you all of our support.”

A leader of another group, Edwin Adai, presented the forms to Mr Abubakar on behalf of all the groups.

In his response, Mr Abubakar, who was emotional during the remarks by Princess Eboda, said the decision of the support group was the first time in his political career that his supporters would show him such love to the extent of purchasing a nomination form for him.

“I have been in politics for the past three decades and in those three decades I have only been on the ballot for the presidential election only once and that was in 2007.

“But not once in those three decades have I received this much love from the people as you have done today by choosing to purchase nomination forms on my behalf.

“By this action, there is a pact between you and me that we are going to do this work together. Just as you gathered here together, we shall enter the race for the PDP nomination together and together also into the general election and by the grace of God and through your hard work, I believe that we are going to win together,” he said.