Atiku posters flood PDP secretariat in Katsina prompting suggestions he is about to defect

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has remained the centre of attention with regards to the 2019 presidential elections after posters announcing his candidacy were seen all over the Katsina State secretariat of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Alhaji Atiku is still a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and is expected to vie with President Muhammadu Buhari for the party's presidential nomination next year. However, political insiders believe that in case he does not get the APC ticket, Alhaji Atiku has a Plan B, which involves defecting to the PDP to become its presidential candidate.

Earlier this weeks, Alhaji Atiku's posters were seen all over the local PDP secretariat in Katsina. the capital of President Buhari's Katsina State, which political observers believed was sending out a message. Posters carrying various messages such as "Wazirin, we earnestly want you back in PDP" "Atiku, political son of Katsina State  for 2019" and "Wazirin, the bridge builder," donned the premises of the PDP state secretariat and the surrounding areas along Kano road.

Alhaji Salisu Majigiri the PDP state chairman, , who addressed  party chieftains at the secretariat on Monday, however, said the meeting was called to discuss how to move the party forward in the state. He did not make any categorical statement on the calls for Alhaji Atiku’s return to the party.

However, a statement issued during the meeting by a group which called itself PDP Concerned Elders Consultative Forum, said its members were sending a Save Our Soul to Alhaji Atiku  to return to the party. The statement was signed by the forum chairman, Hussaini Dambo.

It  read: “The forum wishes to acknowledge and appreciate the unmistakable fact that the Wazirin Adamawa is a political son of Katsina State to say the least and for obvious reasons, which are not worthy of reiteration here. More importantly, the forum wishes to appreciate the historical fact that the Wazirin Adamawa has made varied indelible contributions to the foundation and development of the PDP and indeed that of democratic politics in Nigeria for decades.

" This is not only worth being remembered but it is also imperative to the current struggle being made by the PDP to wriggle back to become the mainstream political party in Nigeria. Also, the history of defences given to the struggle to sustain democracy in Nigeria’s recent past cannot adequately be written without a serious mention of the immense contributions of this great gentleman, who was in the frontline against those who at one time or the other, chose to truncate the noble path of sustainable democracy in our national body polity.

“In light of the foregoing undeniable facts, we the members of this forum, together with our delegates and millions of supporters wish to present this SOS call to His Excellency, the Wazirin Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to return to the PDP without further ado. We pray that he hearken to our call and we seek the credible indulgence of the PDP to receive him with open arms in order to ensure a successful rebirth of the party.”