Ex-VP cries as he's gifted PDP forms to contest for President

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, fought back tears shortly after obtaining the

According to a report by Vanguard, the Atiku Support Groups (ASG) bought the forms, a total of N12 million, and presented them to him at his Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja on Friday, August 31, 2018.

The former vice president was overwhelmed with emotion when a member of the ASG, Adekemi Adesanya, was describing the terrible state of affairs in the country. The presidential aspirant was pictured wiping his eyes with a white handkerchief to fight back tears.

When it was his turn to speak, Atiku said the fact that he is trusted to provide solutions to Nigeria's numerous challenges encourages him to work for a better nation.

He said, "The event today is significant and historic because this is the only time in my political career that young men and women in this country have come together without my knowledge or even consent to contribute their own hard-earned money to buy me an Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.

"You could have seen that one of the ladies who spoke virtually succeeded in getting me to weep. This is because she aptly described the challenges every Nigerian is facing in this country today and she believed honestly and sincerely from the bottom of her heart that I could be an instrument of addressing those challenges.

"So, for such a woman to believe that I have got those leadership qualities and including those of you who have brought out your monies to buy this form, is one of the most serious challenges I have ever faced in my political career.

"And believe me, addressing those challenges‎ is possible because we have brought young men and women, Nigerians who have got the talents, who have got the education, who have got the experience, who have got all what it take to honestly turn this country around."

Atiku is one in a long list of aspirants contesting for the PDP presidential ticket ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

He faces competition in Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, and former governors, Sule Lamido, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jonah Jang, Ahmed Makarfi, as well as Rabiu Kwankwaso.