Those seeking automatic ticket fear competition – Atiku Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar speaks about his aversion to the concept of automatic ticket and internal democracy among other issues reports JOHN ALECHENU What is your reaction to agitations for automatic ticket in your party, the All Progressives Congress? I think those canvassing for automatic tickets are scared of contest. There is nothing to be scared of in a contest in a democratic setting. How can you canvass for automatic ticket in a democratic process? There is nothing like that. These are people who are afraid of contest. You have been an advocate of internal democracy. How would you compare the APC to your former party, the Peoples Democratic Party? So far, the internal democracy we have practised in the APC is better than what is being done in the PDP. Obviously, there is no doubt about that. You can see that in the last few by-elections, we have gone through them in a transparent manner and in a democratic process in terms of nomination and others. I still believe that the APC holds a better future in terms of internal democracy and in terms of progressiveness of the country. You are known to have always given the presidency a shot at every opportunity. You have not won once, aren’t you discouraged? How can I be discouraged? You are asking me to give up on Nigeria. I don’t have another place to go. So why should I give up on Nigeria? That is what you are asking me to do. I will continue to contest until I no longer have the capacity or the strength. What happens if you don’t get your party’s ticket? What will happen other than for me to support my party? It is logical that I support my party to win the election? What is your unique selling point that you think other contestants like Maj.Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and others lack? Members of the party will determine who becomes the flag bearer and the electorate will decide who wins. Every politician is always optimistic and will tell you that he is going to win but it is the electorate that finally determine who wins. That is the end of the story. What about the incumbency factor, do you see your party defeating the PDP this time around? Why the PDP has remained in power for this long is because the opposition has been fragmented. Now, they are trying to come together. You can see basically, we are moving towards a two party system. Nigerians in the opposition will now see that there is an alternative. Before, it could be because they thought there was no alternative because the opposition was fragmented. That is why the PDP was having it all along. I think Nigerians are sophisticated enough now to see that there is now an alternative to the PDP and therefore feel that we should have an alternative because it has not been as good as we thought. People are saying you are a stranger in the house built by others and yet you want to take over the master bedroom. What is your reaction to this assertion? You are conveying a wrong view because I was a founding member of the Action Congress which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria. I gave it the name ACN before I eventually left and went back to the PDP, and at the prompting of the leadership of the new APC, I came back. What is the position of the APC on zoning and do you see zoning arrangement working for you in the APC? As far as zoning is concerned, we don’t have zoning in the constitution of the APC. So, the race is open to everybody. That is why you hear that people like Rochas Okorocha are also contesting. So, we don’t have zoning in the APC like the PDP. It is entrenched in their constitution which has been violated as far as zoning is concerned. You head the reconciliation committee set up by the APC, how far has the committee gone with its assignment? The reconciliation committee started very well. I am the chairman and I got too busy and so requested the National Working Committee to excuse me from continuing as the chairman and appoint somebody else. The party chairman has not granted my request. Inevitably, somebody else has to take over from me and continue with the job because I am facing an election in Adamawa and a contest for primary. They have to find somebody who has the time. We have made progress and the fact that the group that threatened to leave has not left is a sign that we have made progress. It is a gradual process. Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng ift.tt/XYllwo ift.tt/1n0SLng [[Boost your social presence with NAIRALIKES nairalikes ]] #nigeria x #nairalikes #vanguardng
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 01:30:14 +0000
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