3rd September, 2014
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is meeting with his political associates preparatory to his formal declaration of his interest in the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, P.M.NEWS gathered Wednesday.
Mallam Shehu Garba, spokesperson for the former VP told P.M.NEWS that he cannot confirm or deny stories that Atiku is set to declare his presidential ambition in a text message response to enquiries on the issue Wednesday morning.
But sources told P.M.NEWS that as part of the preparation, the former VP has met with the different groups campaigning for him ahead of the declaration scheduled for between 24 and 29 September in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Atiku, it was gathered, has asked the groups to collapse their structures into few entities to make the number more managable.
It was also gathered that Atiku is putting pressure on the Peoples Democratic Movement, a party believed to be established by some of his associates, to collapse its structure into APC.
A source told P.M.NEWS Wednesday morning that the political associates of the VP are busy in Yola strategising on the declaration.
It was learnt that Atiku’s associates were waiting to receive him at the Yola Airport as at the time of filing in this report.
It was learnt that apart from his presidential declaration, the former VP will also be occupied with the process of planning to make the APC governorship primary for the Adamawa State election rancour free.
APC has announced that it would commence the process of picking its presidential standard bearer through direct modified primaries in October.
The presidential election holds 14 February, 2015.
Atiku was the presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress, AC in 2007 but lost to the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In 2011, Atiku contested the PDP presidential primaries, but lost to the incumbent president. Atiku defected to APC in February 2014.
Apart from Atiku, other members of APC believed to be nursing presidential ambition include former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwakawaso and his Imo State counterpart, Chief Rochas Okorocha.