Atiku

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin has stated that if former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar returns to the party, he will not be given an automatic ticket to contest the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the party.

According to Senator Jibrin, Atiku is free to defect to the opposition party from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but will have to fight for the party’s presidential ticket with other aspirants.

Reports had it that the former Vice-President was already in talks with chieftains of the PDP on his probable return but had premised his defection on the condition that he would secure the party’s presidential ticket to contest the 2019 elections.

Speaking during an interactive section with newsmen in Kaduna, Jibrin stressed that given the manner in which the ruling party has been treating Atiku, he had no other option than to return to the PDP which he initially belonged to ahead of the polls.

“We are ready to accept him in our party but he should be ready to work for a waiver. The North met in Abuja to say that any candidate from the North can contest. Let us get them. I think they are getting set now.

“For now, we have a former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, a former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, and so on, preparing to vie for the PDP presidential ticket.

“If the PDP grants Atiku a waiver, he should join the cream of presidential aspirants in the party to fight for the ticket in 2019. If the PDP considers Atiku for the automatic presidential ticket, what about those in the party who are showing interest? Should we throw them away? If he is coming, he should come as an equal partner,” Jibrin said.

He added that although the party was ever willing and ready to accept Atiku back into their fold, he must go through the primaries like every other aspirant if he wishes to pick the party’s presidential slot.