APC vice chairman says Atiku is no longer a viable option for 2019 presidential elections

ALL Progressives Congress (APC) vice chairman Hilliard Eta has revealed that former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is not a viable option as a presidential candidate for the party come 2019 because President Muhammadu Buhari is its leader.

In 2015, Alhaji Abubakar was one of President Buhari's rivals for the APC presidential ticket and with elections due in two years time, jostling has already begun. Although no one had formally declared yet, Alhaji Abubakar is expected to be a candidate and President Buhari is said to be under pressure from his subordinates to stand again.

However, Mr Eta, the APC's national vice chairman south-south, said that former vice president is no longer an option for the 2019 presidential race. He explained that he was one of those who canvassed votes for Atiku during the APC presidential primaries in 2015 but that their loyalty shifted to President Buhari after he became the party’s presidential candidate.

Mr Eta explained that he and all the other party faithful cast their lot with the party and its candidate which eventually led to Buhari’s emergence as president. According to him, even the ardent critics of President Buhari have been surprised by his performance and he was already doing what Atiku had always aspired to do if given the chance.

“Another cycle is about to come and Atiku is no more an option for me because I think that the option for me now is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Buhari, who has done remarkably well in keeping the promises that he made to Nigerians. Because of the sterling qualities of the president, because of the job he has done, the totality of the membership of the party may want him to go back without contest.

“What I mean is that those who may want to contest against him may join hands with him to build the country and have him only as both the aspirant and eventually the candidate of the party. It has happened in a lot of political circumstances around the world.” Mr Eta added.

He urged the former vice president to join the president in building the Nigeria of his dreams. However, Paul Ibe, the media adviser to the former vice president, said every Nigerian was entitled to their opinion.