20110122
Vanguard

NINE days after he lost to President Goodluck Jonathan at last Thursday's Presidential Primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday attributed his failure to become the party's flagbearer to what he described as the absence of a level playing ground.

According to Atiku Abubakar, the lost was not because his campaign Organization never prepared for the contest, but efforts were frustrated because of the arrangements put in place, just as he stressed that inspite of his defeat, he was not a quitter.

Addressing his staff yesterday during the formal winding down of Campaign activities at his Campaign Organisation Headquarters located on No. 1 Luanda Crescent, Wuse II, off Adetokunboh Ademola Crescent, Abuja, Atiku who noted that he was still holding consultation meetings with his family members and political associates since the January 13th Presidential primaries, stressed that the consultations were ongoing.

According to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, "As you all know, the convention (PDP presidential primaries) fell short of our expectations. You should not despair (and) on my own part, I want to assure you that I am not a quitter. If you think that I am quitting and giving up, you are making a mistake.

"Since the conclusion of the convention I have been holding consultations with my family and political associates on the way forward. Those consultations are continuing. "In the meantime, we shall be winding down activities at this campaign office and closing the office so that you may get back to the other aspects of your lives. I thank you for your hard work and sacrifices. "I believe we shall reconvene."

Atiku who recalled that only a few gave his bid for the PDP presidential ticket any chance of getting that far last Thursday, said "when we began this journey a few months ago, few people gave us a chance of even being competitive. However, we were able to reach a number of important milestones along the way.

Some said I was not going to be allowed to return to the party (PDP), but I did. Some said I was not going to be given a waiver, I got a waiver. Some said I may not emerge as Consensus Candidate, but I prevailed. Some said I was not going to go through the screening process, but I scaled that hurdle. We were also able to travel the country and interact with party delegates. And we became very competitive."

"I would like to say that our inability to prevail last week Thursday (January 13) was not due to your failure; it was not due to your lack of effort or commitment. I know that you were committed and that you worked hard. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You should, therefore, hold your heads high and never despair."

It would be recalled that at the end of the PDP Presidential primaries held at Eagle Square, Abuja, out of the total votes cast of 3,506, President Goodluck Jonathan polled 2,736 to defeat Atiku Abubakar who got 805 votes.

Speaking earlier, while bidding staff of the Campaign Organization farewell, Director General of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Sen. Ben Obi said that irrespective of the outcome of the PDP presidential primaries, Atiku remains a political force to be reckoned with in Nigeria.

According to Senator Obi, "We presented to the country a capable and qualified man who was ready and prepared to rule from day one. However, the story from Eagle square was different but we cannot give up.

"The country needs the services of this man. There is no way anybody can form a government without the support of the Turaki."

Senator Ben Obi who assured the staff that all their remunerations would be paid, said, "We will come back again and so be ready to be called upon even at short notice whenever the situation demands. For now we cannot keep you all together, but I know that we still have some steam left in our avowed commitment to working together with Nigerians to make good things happen in our dear country."