2023: Atiku lists condition for PDP members to get contract in his govt if elected

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says members of the party who may want an appointment or contract from his government, must win their polling units during the election.

He said this on Wednesday at a town hall meeting he held with stakeholders and members of the party in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The former vice president said if the members want PDP to return to power in May, they must go back to their constituencies and work for the party to win the election.

In Atiku’s entourage to the meeting were the national chairman of PDP, Iyocha Ayu, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke.

Others were Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Cross River State, Lyel Imoke, former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, governorship candidate of Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and the governorship candidate of Lagos State, Jide Adeniran, popularly known as Jandor.

Atiku said: “The fact that you are following the gubernatorial candidate or the senatorial candidate or the House of Representatives candidate or the presidential candidate to campaigns is no qualification that you will get an appointment, it is not a qualification that you will get a contract, whether at the local government level, state or the federal level.

“The only way, as far as I am concerned, if I am president, if you come and say you want a job or you want a contract, I will ask you let me have the result of your polling booth and that is what I am going to direct to everybody, because unless we do that we will not win the elections.

“You are all members of the PDP and supporters of the PDP, you want PDP to return to power, please I beg of you make sure you win your polling booths.

“You cannot be following the governor all the place or the senator all the place and then you don’t win your polling booth and you come and say you want to be a minister or you want to get this contract.

“So please, as members of our party, let us make sure that we go back to our constituencies and make sure that we deliver our polling units”.

While addressing supporters at a rally, Atiku called on residents of the state to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) both at the state level and at the national level.

“The APC government has failed us and therefore it is our responsibility to make sure that they do not return to power”, Atiku said.

Also, speaking at the rally, Mr Ayu accused the APC of always shutting the PDP out of public places for rallies.

Mr Ayu cited Ekiti where the state government allegedly shut fuel stations, stadiums and other public places.

It will be recalled that the PDP eventually used the Ake Palace ground as the venue for the state rally after the Ogun State government refused them access to the MKO Abiola stadium, saying the stadium was under renovation.

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Efforts to speak with the Ekiti governor’s spokesperson, Yinka Oyebode, were unsuccessful as his phone was not reachable.

When a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the stadium on Wednesday, artisans were seen fixing the roofs of the sitting areas in the stadium.

At the rally, the party’s national chairman presented the flag of the party to the governorship candidate, Mr Adebutu.