Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday endorsed ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for the 2019 presidential
election,
Mr.
Obasanjo spoke when Atiku Abubakar and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party
visited him at his Abeokuta home, said he believed Atiku has ‘re-discovered and
re-positioned himself’ and is now good enough to enjoy his support in the next
election.
Obasanjo also
said, “Let me start by congratulating President-to-be,
Atiku Abubakar, for his success at the recent PDP Primary and I took note of
his gracious remarks in his acceptance speech that it all started here.
“Yes, when it started, it was meant for Atiku to succeed
Obasanjo. In the presence of these distinguished leaders of goodwill
today, let me say it openly that we have reviewed what went wrong on the side
of Atiku. And in all honesty, my former Vice-President has
re-discovered and re-positioned himself. As I have repeatedly said,
it is not so much what you did against me that was the issue but what you did
against the Party, the Government and the country.
“I
took the stand I had taken based on the character and attributes you exhibited
in the position you found yourself. I strongly believe that I was
right. It was in the overall interest of everyone and everything to take such a
position.
“From what transpired in the last couple of hours or so,
you have shown remorse; you have asked for forgiveness and you have indicated
that you have learnt some good lessons and you will mend fences and make amends
as necessary and as desirable.
“Whenever or wherever you might have offended me, as a
Christian who asks for God’s forgiveness of my sins and inadequacies on daily
basis, I forgive and I sincerely advise you to learn from the past and do what
is right and it will be well with you. Obviously, you have mended fences with
the Party and fully reconciled with the Party. That’s why today, you
are the Presidential Candidate of the Party. In addition to
appreciating all that the Party has done for you, may I advise you to work
together with all those who contested for the Party’s flag with you as a team
for your campaign.
“There are still areas, nationally and internationally,
where you have to mend fences and make amends. You will know how to
handle what is already out and what may yet be put out by the
opposition. But, I am convinced that if you continue with the
attitude that brought you here with these distinguished leaders of goodwill,
with remorse and contrite heart, the rest of the coast within and outside the
country can be cleared. And if there is anything I can do and you
want me to do in that respect, I will do.
“I am
sure with the right attitude for change where necessary, and by putting lessons
learned by you to work, you will get the understanding, cooperation, support
and mandate – all at the national level. With Nigerians
voting for you, it will mean that you secure their forgiveness and regain their
confidence. It will be with the hope or assurance of a Paul on the road to
Damascus Conversion. After all, change and conversion are of man. I
believe that with a contrite heart, change is possible in everybody’s life and
situation.
“For me, relatively and of all the aspirants in the PDP,
you have the widest and greatest exposure, experience, outreach and possibly
the best machinery and preparation for seeing the tough and likely dirty
campaign ahead through. From what I personally know of you, you have capacity
to perform better than the incumbent. You surely understand the economy better;
you have business experience, which can make your administration business-friendly
and boost the economy and provide jobs.
“You have better outreach nationally and internationally
and that can translate to better management of foreign affairs. You
are more accessible and less inflexible and more open to all parts of the
country in many ways. As Pastor Bakare, one-time running mate of the
incumbent President said, “You are a wazobia man.” And that should
help you in confronting the confrontable and shunning nepotism.
“As you know, along the road to where you are today,
many leaders and ordinary people cooperated and overtly and covertly worked
hard. On your behalf, I thank them all. May their coast
continue to be expanded. And when you become Nigerian President
which, insha-Allah, you will be, remember what we did together in government –
we ran an administration by Nigerians for all Nigerians where merit and
performance count more than blood relationship, friendship or kith and
kin. Although some time and ground have been lost, you should
endeavour to start from where we stopped and recover some lost ground, if not
time.
“Please uphold truth, integrity, principles, morality
and fight corruption, crimes and insurgency. The fundamental law of
the land, our constitution must be scrupulously defended. I make one
demand and one demand on you today, I need you to say before God and man that
you will always remain irrevocably committed to upholding ALL the provisions of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the whole country will
remain your single indivisible constituency.
“Constitutionalism,
popular participation and inclusiveness are pre-conditions for reversing the
deficits of the past three and half years. They will ensure abiding faith in
our indivisibility, oneness and faith in the survival of all against none.
“The fundamentals for our development, economic growth
and progress are hard and soft infrastructure. Remember to always
give adequate places in your administration to our youth and women.
“All the authorities involved with the preparation, all
processes and conduct of the election must ensure that the election is free,
fair and credible.
“Once again, congratulations and I wish you
well. My distinguished brothers and leaders of goodwill, thank you
for making this happen. I will now count on you to encourage all
hands to be on the deck to take Nigeria to the level God has created it to be –
autopilot level.”
Breaking News: Obasanjo forgives Atiku, endorse him for President-said you are better than Buhari
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October 11, 2018
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