Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said yesterday he had been side-lined
by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government which he said he helped into
power in 2015.
Atiku’s pot-shot at the government came on a day one of Buhari’s ministers
said she would resign from the cabinet should Atiku announce today he
would run for president in 2019.
The Minister for Women Affairs, Jummai Alhassan told the BBC Hausa Service
yesterday that Atiku ís her godfather and she would support him against
President Buhari should both of them decide to run in the elections in
2019.
In an interview aired during yesterday’s morning programme of the Hausa
Service of the Voice of America (VOA), Atiku said he had been sidelined
despite the fact that he used his contacts and resources to defeat the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
Atiku spoke from Yola, Adamawa State where he celebrated the Eid-el- Kabir
festival.
“Honestly speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the
processes, including campaigns until success was achieved.
“But sadly, soon after the formation of government; I was side-lined, I
have no any relationship with the government, I’ve not been contacted even
once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintained my distance. They
used our money and influence to get to where they’re but three years down
the lane, this is where we are,” Atiku said.
He praised President Muhammadu Buhari on the successes recorded in the
fight against Boko Haram, but said it was not yet time to celebrate
because the ruling government had failed in many fronts.
“Yes, there were successes but not comprehensive success because the Boko
Haram miscreants are still very active, killing our people and many local
government councils in Borno and Yobe are under their firm grip. People
cannot dare go back to their dwellings
“This thing baffles me; I never imagined that Nigeria will fight a
protracted battle with Boko Haram for five years. At a time, we fought the
Biafra war, which was more complicated because of the terrain in the South
but the Biafran soldiers were roundly subdued in 30 months. But here
we’re, fighting an endless battle with the Boko Haram and there’s no end
in sight,” he said.
On corruption, Atiku said very little was achieved in that respect. “How
many people were arrested, prosecuted and jailed? How much was recovered
from the looters?” he asked.
“When we came on board in 1999, I remember we recovered between $4.5 and
$4.7 billion from those that looted under (Late Sani) Abacha.”