Tambuwal: Atiku is Incoming President, Confident Tribunal Will Restore PDP Mandate
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Sokoto State Governor and Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, has said he is confident that the presidential election tribunal would restore the mandate of PDP presidential candidate and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, as President of Nigeria.
Tambuwal spoke at a reception and send-forth organised by the forum for its incoming governors and outgoing state chief executives, respectively.Atiku, too, assured the gathering that PDP would recover its mandate, because the party did not lose the February 25 presidential election.
Acting national chairman of PDP, Ambassador Iliya Damagun, advised the judiciary to be careful in handling the presidential election petitions challenging the declaration of the APC candidate and president-elect, Bola Tinubu, as winner of the February 25 presidential poll. Damagun said the action of the judiciary would determine the growth of democracy in Nigeria
Former Vice President Namadi Sambo, in his comments, called for unity among PDP members in the states. Sambo expressed worry at the rate of crisis in PDP and suspension of members, saying it is alarming.
According to Tambuwal, “We have the confidence that at the end of the day, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, will be restored as the constitutionally elected president. From what is on ground, we are confident that the mandate will be restored. We see him as the incoming president.”In his brief remarks, Atiku said, “We want to refocus our party for the task ahead. I want to assure you that our party did not lose the presidential election. Let’s stay determined to retrieve our mandate in the last presidential election.
“We have a lot of challenges. We used to have the PDP as the dominant party in Nigeria, but we have been receding and we must ensure that we remain united and regain our past glories. We should ask ourselves why we are in the present situation and find ways to retrieve our past glories. But before them, we must stay focused.”
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The acting national chairman of PDP stated that the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man.He said, “The actions of the judiciary will determine the growth of democracy in this country. The only solution by the judiciary is to ensure that Nigerians have a just adjudication in all issues before them.”
On the crisis in the party, Damagun said, “We in the NWC pledge to solve our internal crisis. There would be no cause for alarm.” He commended the outgoing PDP governors for their support to the party, while calling on the incoming governors to emulate their predecessors in both their moral and financial support to the party.
Earlier, Sambo, who was the chairman of the occasion, tasked the PDP on unity, citing the crisis in the party in Kaduna State.He appealed to the leadership of the PDP to intervene, as “The suspension of members left, right and centre is not good for growth and development of the party in Kaduna and other state chapters.”
The keynote lecture was delivered by Professor Muda Yusuf, and it was on the topic, “Good governance at the subnational level: Issues, Perspective, Expectations and Outcomes”.
In his lecture, Yusuf decried the increasing debt profile of Nigeria, which had risen from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to almost over 80 trillion in 2023. He said the situation on Nigeria was becoming like the Idi Amin of Uganda, where it’s currency became a toilet paper Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, blamed the mismanagement of the economy on the federal government.Obaseki cited an instance, when he complained against the economy and members of the opposition party accused him of playing politics with the economy.
