“But we are not surprised by his desperate position. “We view Atiku’s public declaration which framed him as an ethnic and regional champion as unbecoming for a man who was once a vice-president of Nigeria. Onanuga said: “Atiku who got the PDP ticket, with a similar mindset, has cast himself as a northern candidate, who should solely be supported by the people from his region. In a statement by the PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, he was accused of demonstrating how low a man honoured with the second highest office of the Nigerian Constitution was willing to sink in search of a perennial wild goose chase after the highest office in the land. In its reaction, the APC Presidential Campaign Council said Abubakar’s statement was the worst expression of ethnocentric opportunism ever uttered by a former vice president. We are confident he will enthrone equity, fairness, inclusion, and unity as operating national policy when elected as President in next year’s general election, as we urge Nigerians to do.” As governor of Lagos State, his executive cabinet was a rare and admirable reflection of ethnic and religious diversity. He added: “That is the commitment that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our presidential candidate brings in his aspiration to serve as President. Morka noted that in direct contrast to Abubakar’s schismatic tendency, Northern Progressive APC Governors stood valiantly in support of the emergence of a Southern presidential candidate in demonstration of patriotic commitment to national unity, equity and fairness. Against the dictates of his party’s constitution on the principle of power rotation between and North and South of Nigeria, Atiku wrested presidential candidacy and left his party in fractious disability.” “Atiku seeks to inflict on Nigeria discord and strife of a worse kind than he has inflicted on his PDP. Our Northern citizens and patriots know far better than what Atiku thinks, and will not walk down that slippery slope with him. The cat has finally been let out of the bag of him that pays lip service to unity while working hard to undermine our national unity. “What is even more confounding is that this presidential candidate of the PDP has touted himself to be on a mission to unify Nigeria. Our country does not need this kind of highly inflammable rhetoric now or ever. “Atiku’s words ring loud of extreme and mindless desperation, and such an extremely desperate man cannot and must not be entrusted with the most important job of President – a job whose core duty is that of leading, uniting and working in the best interest of all in an ethno-religious, pluralistic society as Nigeria. He added: “If, as Atiku believes, the average Northerner needs a Northern President now, after a Northern President, when will they ever not need a Northern President? What does Atiku think the average Southerner needs? Why is it about what the average Northerner needs, or even what the average Southerner may need? Why is it not about what Nigeria and Nigerians need? Nigerians need bold and visionary leadership anchored on a firm commitment to transcendental national unity, over and above ethnic or sectional obsessions. The APC spokesman said he was surprised that such a statement emanated from “a desperate and serial failed candidate for the office of President”. It is beyond the pale for a senior citizen and a former vice president of the Federal Republic to so brazenly instigate strife and disunity in our country in pursuit of his befuddled political self-interest.” In a statement in Abuja on Sunday, Morka said: “Atiku’s statement is a decisive attack on our national unity. Reacting to the comment, the APC through its spokesman, Felix Morka, described Abubakar as an ethnic and regional champion.
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