Former governor of Sokoto State, Dr. Attahiru Bafarawa, has declared that all presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are in tandem to ensure the sack from office of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2019.
Bafarawa, who was in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital on Friday to intimate former President Goodluck Jonathan of his presidential ambition, in an interview said all lovers of democracy in Nigeria must unite to get Buhari out of power and move the country forward.
He described Jonathan as a democrat not of Nigeria but Africa, adding that he is contesting the presidency not for personal interests.
Bafarawa, who referred to the APC as a limited liability company, allay fears that he would leave the PDP if he was not given the Presidential ticket.
“I am a democrat and I see politics as a game. Just like him (Jonathan), who was not defeated but because he need the peace of the country, he accepted defeat and allowed peace to reign. I didn’t join politics for the sake of personal interest. I have been in politics for the past 40 years and I have been in the opposition. I am not in politics to make money. I am in politics to serve the people.
“Therefore, I would remain in PDP. PDP is not a limited liability company like APC, but PDP is PLC, so everybody whether we get it or we don’t get it, we shall remain in PDP. Our common objective is how to get Buhari out of power. So any serious person in this country is determined to see that in 2019, Buhari leaves office so that we unite our country and move it forward.”
Jonathan also while seeing his guest off said Bafarawa is an experienced politician that wants the best for Nigeria.
On the number of people jostling for the PDP presidential ticket, he said the high number is good for democracy, stressing however that the party must ensure there is a level playing ground for all the aspirants.
“The more people that are interested, the better for the party. If you have only two aspirants, and you know the way we play politics in this country, the division between the two camps would be so bad. Not from the candidates themselves but their supporters that would be exchanging all kinds of bitterness and at the end of the day, one must lose and those that lost would feel they would not be accepted and there would be tendency to leave.
“When there are many aspirants, the key thing is that there must be a level playing ground for all the aspirants. When the party makes sure the ground is level for all the aspirants and the best person among them emerges, they would all work for the party. As leaders, we are also talking and before the primaries we would talk to the aspirants to ensure things are done in a way everybody would be happy. The key thing is not the number of aspirants; we must make sure the ground is level.”
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