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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Wife of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Amina Titi Abubakar, has charged members of the Atiku Circle Grassroots Movement in the South-East to take the campaign for her husband’s 2027 presidential bid to every community in the region.
Amina, who inaugurated the South-East chapter of the political support group in Enugu at the weekend, described its members as the “foot soldiers” who must take Atiku’s message to the grassroots and canvass votes for him ahead of the election.
Addressing supporters at the inauguration, she said: “You are now Atiku crusaders, you are not apostles, you are now Atiku’s foot soldiers. You will carry the good news to all the crannies, to all the hamlets of our states.”
She promised that supporters who worked for Atiku’s victory would have a place in the administration if he wins the election.
“I will promise you, any state that Atiku wins, I, Amina Titi Abubakar, on my honour as the First Lady in waiting, promise you that you will be with me in the Villa,” she said.
Amina thanked the organisers for the initiative, urging members of the group to remain committed to the campaign.
South-East Coordinator of the Atiku Circle Grassroots Movement, Pastor Chidi Odoemelam, said the group was built around the principle that politics begins at the grassroots.
“Politics is local. It starts from the grassroots. I am calling on other support groups to emulate the Atiku Circle Grassroots Movement,” he said.
Odoemelam said the group overcame attempts to frustrate the inauguration because of its determination to support Atiku.
“Only if you knew the forces that tried to stop this programme today, but we withstood all of them because we are determined and we know who we are working for. We know who is going to rescue this nation from misery,” he said.
He also cited Atiku’s proposed economic policies, including his position on fuel subsidy, as reasons for supporting his candidacy.
The group’s co-coordinator in the South East, Dr Theodore Odi, described Atiku as “the most detribalised politician in Nigeria”, saying his political outlook transcended ethnic and religious boundaries.
“He does not know religion, he does not know tribe. He has nothing to do with division. He is all concerned about the unity of Nigeria,” Odi said.
She argued that Atiku had the experience and economic blueprint required to address the country’s challenges, adding that many politicians who benefited from him had later abandoned him.
Immediate past chairman of ADC in Enugu State, Stella Chukwuma, recalled Amina’s role in establishing the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), which she said later metamorphosed into the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Chukwuma urged members to take the campaign to markets, streets and communities, saying: “We should vote for Atiku Abubakar and protect our votes.”
