Only Atiku backed Senate President's candidacy in 2015 - Dogara

Former Vice-President

Speaker of the house of representatives, Yakubu Dogara, reportedly made this known in his yet to be released biography, ‘A Reed Made Flint,’ authored by Ovation publisher, Dele Momodu.

TheCable reports that Dogara disclosed that Atiku “solidly” backed Bukola Saraki’s bid to be senate president in 2015 — despite strong opposition from the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including President Muhammadu Buhari.

“If I don’t say this to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s credit I will not be fair to him. It will amount to travesty. At the time when most leaders in the APC were not showing sympathy to our cause, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came out as one solid voice in support of both the candidature of the now Senate President (Bukola Saraki) and my humble self," Dogara was quoted.

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Tinubu's role

Just as it was in his case against Femi Gbajabiamila, Dogara reeled out Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's role when he had met Atiku in a meeting in Bauchi.

Dogara said: “There was this particular time we were meeting with our leader in the North-East, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar at his residence. Our governor (Mohammed Abubakar) had come into town and some of our stakeholders in APC Bauchi had gone to see Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Somehow, Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) and one other person walked into that meeting and he did not waste time in pushing his Gbajabiamila agenda forward.

“He spoke passionately about the role he had played in APC, the way he had built bridges between the South-West and the North and he appealed to my brothers and sisters who were there, all the political leaders and stake holders of APC from my state to prevail on me to stop this race and support his candidate Femi Gbajabiamila to become Speaker. After he had spoken, he left."

Atiku's stand

While revealing all the politicking that transpired in 2015 after the emergence of the All Progressive Congress, Dogara also took time to narrate Atiku's stand in the whole power tussle.

He said: “He said the North-East must have a position and it was his duty as a leader from the North-East to support that goal. And more so, because of the religious demography of Nigeria there was the need to have a Northern minority Christian in government as that would help to smoothen religious engagement and relationship in the North and put paid to the insinuation that APC was just a Muslim party.”

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In November 2017, Atiku quit the ruling party and days after returned to the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, which recently held its national convention.

Atiku had complained of neglect by the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration as well as the APC after assisting the party to emerge tops in 2015.

The former VP, who earnestly nurse a presidential ambition, is expected to contest for the presidential ticket in PDP ahead of a potential battle with Buhari in 2019.