National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar will not be voted for by Nigerians in 2019.
He also said that the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole should be allowed to do his work according to the constitution of the party that brought the National working Committee (NWC) members into power.
Tinubu said on Wednesday that Atiku Abubakar is going nowhere in the 2019 election.
Tinubu, who was a former Governor of Lagos state, was speaking against the backdrop of the meeting Atiku reportedly had in Dubai over 2019 election.
He told State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja that Atiku can meet anywhere to strategize, but that Nigerians will not vote for him.
When asked if he was jittery about Atiku meeting in Dubai to unseat Buhari, he said: “We don’t fear, whether it is in the jungle, or is in Dubai or is in Abu Dhabi, people are free to meet and strategize in any way they form but we are not going back to the illusion of the PDP.
“It is not possible, Nigerians will not do that. They say slow and steady wins the race; we inherited that from our forefathers and knowledgeable people.
“We can’t go back to the pit that we inherited for 16 years. They can strategise from anywhere but a leopard cannot change its skin,” he said.
Asked if he is in support of Oshiomhole’s removal, he said: “No. We all have to respect the party supremacy. You were all here when we had the Congress, we elected the new executives, the convention we had it, the NEC was formed and we surrendered to avoid conflict, to avoid domination, to avoid abuses of power, we surrendered our rights, all rights to the National Working Committee headed by Adams Oshiomohole.
“That the National Working Committee should set up electoral bodies to supervise various state congresses and elections. ‘We signed off for it’. So, if it is not in our individual favour, so be it.
“We gave three options, consensus, where there is no consensus because if you are more than two or three and you cannot agree to one candidate, you go to the next level.
“The next level is the stakeholders delegate and you have to be supervised by the National Working Committee of the party, national election committee of the party. That shows party supremacy or the freest option, the less cumbersome is to open direct primary, line up and count the number, 1, 2, 3. If you win, you win and if you fail, go home.
“Then appeal committee was set up to listen to all appeals, internal mechanism for conflict resolution. It was there, you cannot turn round against that, you cannot turn against all of that.
“No. Party is supreme, party must be respected, abuses will not do it and anger will not do it. It is party politics, somebody will win and somebody will lose, too bad.”
On the purpose of his visit to the Presidential Villa, he said, “The meeting is about the nation, the country, our people, peace, stability and economic progress.