FORMER Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar yesterday denied his involvement in the National Assembly election of its officers, urging Nigerians to ignore all such insinuations.
A press statement issued by his media office in Abuja yesterday signed by Paul Ibe, the Turaki Adamawa, who maintained that it is legitimate and desirable for individuals or groups to seek to pursue their interest, asserted that it must be done with the benefit of sustaining our democracy and promoting equity, fair play and justice in mind.
Atiku noted that the recent outcomes of the National Assembly election contrary to insinuations are products of interplay of politics, which is itself in constant motion.
“In politics, it is a mistake to expect fixed outcomes. As the President has done, let us all come to terms with what has happened in the interest of the system and move on.
Suffice it to say that the new administration should be allowed a smooth take off and be allowed the atmosphere to deliver. On this, I stand with President Buhari,” Atiku said.
Meanwhile, states chairmen of the All Progressive Congress (APC), under the aegis of the Chairmen’s Forum has sued for peace and reconciliation among all those feeling aggrieved in the recent process of leadership change in the National Assembly.
At the end of its meeting at the weekend in Abuja, the chairmen urged all aggrieved parties to embrace the moves for reconciliation by President Muhammadu Buhari and the national leadership of the party.
In a statement yesterday in Enugu, the Enugu State chairman of the APC, who is also the Publicity Secretary of the Chairmen’s Forum, Dr. Ben Nwoye, expressed concern over the crisis that ensued from the election of the leadership of the Eighth National Assembly and noted that, “we are urging all the aggrieved National Assembly to embrace dialogue and the re-conciliatory moves being championed by Mr. President, and the national leadership of our party, for the sake of national interest and APC.
According to Nwoye, the states chairmen, after four days of deliberations in Abuja on the internal crisis, “during which period, we engaged in a re-conciliatory meeting with the leadership of the party, in an attempt to seek resolution to the dispute, we concluded that the crisis can be resolved through extensive progressive dialogue.”
He explained that the meeting, which was presided over by the Forum’s Acting chairman, Alhaji Umar Haruna Muhammed of Kano State, hailed the efforts of Buhari, and the leadership of the party towards laying the crisis to rest.
The Turaki Adamawa while restating his unalloyed commitment to the Buhari administration pledged to back this commitment with all of the assets at his disposal.
“Not only did Atiku Abubakar congratulate Buhari after his emergence as the presidential candidate of the APC at the party’s national convention in Lagos, he also handed over his best assets to the Buhari Presidential Campaign.
The former Vice President enthusiastically handled the diplomatic assignment of seeking endorsement for Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina as the President of the African Development Bank on behalf of President Buhari and would be available for any other assignments as the President pleases.
“Make no mistake about it Atiku Abubakar holds Buhari in the highest esteem, and would always remain loyal to him, and support him in every endeavour to succeed as president.” The APC chieftain also called on Nigerians with members of the President’s own party taking a lead in their undiluted support of his administration.
“We, the members of the President’s own family need to lead in this direction for others to follow for the good of our nation and its peoples.”
Atiku Abubakar denounced the increasing determination of some people to draw a wedge between President Buhari and himself. “It has become crystal clear even to the blind that the motives of these hatchet men who are desperate to take every available newspaper space is to insult and vilify the former Vice President.