The former Managing Director of Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), Mr Mohammed Hayatudeen has said the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will not stop him from contesting for president also on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
Atiku is a foundation member of the PDP and speculatively favoured to clinch the PDP ticket to represent the party in 2023. As a former VP and businessman with network of loyal friends all over the nation, Nurudeen said he is not intimidated by Atiku’s political sagacity. He made this declaration in an interview with journalists in Yola the Adamawa State after consulting with the party’s excos at the state party secretariat.
He said, “The thing is that, even if you come from the same home as brothers there is freedom to compete for public office. For example, in the United Kingdom about 15 years ago, there were two brothers who keenly contested for the chairmanship of the Labour Party; one lost the other one won. So, the fact that Atiku Abubakar is competing for the presidency does not mean that if I decide to vie for the same office, we cannot actually compete in a manner that is mature, that allows the party to be actually fair and just to all so that the best person can emerge as the party candidate.”
He further explained that he recently revalidated his membership registration of the PDP and hinged his decision to join politics on the need to contribute his quota to the development of the country and urged citizens to get fully involved in politics and public affairs. On his decision to align with PDP, he pointed out that the party is a progressive and inclusive and has tremendous experience over the years. According to him, PDP was in power for 16 out of the 22 years of the current democratic dispensation and has the largest footprints and succeeded in establishing a strong democratic culture but lost election in 2015. For his part, Adamawa PDP chairman, Barrister A.T Shehu called on all presidential aspirants under PDP to talk to themselves and close ranks with one another to salvage the country from the APC’s misrule, noting that Nigerians had suffered enough.
