Regional Bodies Endorse Atiku

Eniola Olayemi

Endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, by Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Middle Belt Forum, and a faction of Afenifere, has received reaction from the Presidency.

The Presidency said in its response to the development Sunday night that the endorsement is immaterial and symbolic of the formidable second term aspirations of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The endorsement of Atiku on Sunday by the groups came less than two weeks to the presidential election which holds on February 16.

Reacting in a statement by the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency said, “The Peoples Democratic Party is hiding in the bunker of ethnicity to avoid their inevitable defeat but that won’t change anything.

“The current scenario resembles efforts to stop Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 by the same characters.

“It is an effort to repeat the old experiment that failed in 2015. They failed to stop him from coming to power in 2015 and they will fail yet again on February 16th. If all these groups are ganging up against one person, that is President Buhari, it tells you who is the formidable candidate in the election. This gang up they forged, one more time will change nothing. It is for the people to decide.”