Senator says Atiku, Obi not threats to APC
The Deputy Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, has said the chances of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the February 25 election were not in any way threatened by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi.
The Niger State senator and the National Coordinator of Project 774 submitted that Atiku and Obi were not giving the APC candidate any challenge, but a show.
Herald Reporters gathered that Project 774 promotes grassroots support for the Tinubu/Shettima team across all the local government areas in the country.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Abdullahi stated that Atiku failed to have an impact on his home state of Adamawa as vice president between 1999 and 2007, noting that he did not rehabilitate a single road in his state.
Asked if Atiku and Obi posed a threat to the APC candidate, the senator said, “Yes, they are giving a good show, but it is only to bring out the best in us. It is only a good show, not a challenge.
“For the eight years he was vice president, all the roads were as terrible as they had always been. No single road was rehabilitated for the people of Adamawa State.
“Charity begins at home; if you are not charitable to your home, then what should be my hope in expecting you to be charitable to me? Honourable Namdas was the one who fought for the construction of that road. So, the facts are clear, because I don’t want us to dwell much on the failure of that period; it was colossal.”
Speaking on the aborted APC rally in Niger State, the senate deputy whip explained that he followed due process by informing the police about the rally ahead of time.
He expressed shock that the police could prevent the rally during an electioneering period, and added that the event, which was subsequently held in his community, recorded a huge turnout.
He added, “I had written to all the people we were supposed to inform of the date of the programme and the venue, which is the New Bussa Township Stadium that I renovated.
“I got permission from the local government to renovate it before starting the renovation project. They blocked the stadium, and we decided to use my father’s neighbourhood, which has been rehabilitated by me, and all the people came in front of our house, and based on that, the entire place was filled with people.”