Youth group canvasses for Atiku-Okonjo-Iweala's ticket ahead of 2019 presidential election
- The race for the 2019 presidential election has started in earnest
- The defection of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has brightened his chances
- A youth group has taken the bull by the horn and started its own campaign for the former vice president
A group known as Youths for Better Nigeria (YBN) has called on former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to vie for the presidency in 2019 alongside a former minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as his running mate.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, December 12, the leader of the group, Ikemba Oscar Ugo, said the presidency being the most important office in the land should be occupied by the best brains with uprightness.
He said the group had identified these qualities in Atiku who, according to them, had over the years remained the bastion of democracy by singularly truncating the third term scheme of an erstwhile president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Atiku Abubakar is likely to run for the presidential election in 2019 under the PDP. Photo credit: Atiku Media Office
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“It is only Atiku Abubakar who as a vice president; was an ambassador of conflict resolution that was capable of bringing us back together to live in peace and harmony,” Ugo said.
He stated that the process of choosing Atiku Abubakar as the preferred presidential candidate to run with Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was very detailed and rigorous by his group.
Though it is likely he seeks the PDP's presidential ticket, Atiku is yet to formally declare his intention to run for the highest office in the land.
Okonjo-Iweala on the hand, has since focused on international development work since after she served in the Goodluck Jonathan administration till 2015.
Meanwhile, a political strategist, Dr Abbati Bako, has stated that Atiku possesses the political sagacity, exposure and wherewithal to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
Speaking on the resignation of the former vice president from the APC, Bako said the political space in the country would soon take shape as alignment and realignment were on-going underground.
According to him, the failure of President Buhari to fulfill his campaign promises to Nigerians had brightened the chances of Atiku and the opposition to clinch power in 2019.
READ ALSO: 2019: The imperative of an Atiku presidency by Phrank Shaibu
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Source: Naija.ng