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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The outcome of the February 25 presidential poll means different things to different people. But for former vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, in the election, Atiku Abubakar; it is a deadly blow to a life long ambition. For 30 years, the former Customs officer has had his gaze fixed on the presidency.
The former vice president and Turaki Adamawa had aspired to be President of Nigeria six times. Thrice he lost the nomination to be the presidential candidate of his party. However, he made it to the ballot as candidate in three general elections in 2007, 2019 and 2023.
After clinching the PDP presidential ticket, in a keenly contested primary, last May 29, Atiku’s hope, that he will be the next President of the country, soared. However, that hope was dashed on Wednesday, after the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election. According to INEC, the former vice president garnered a total of 6.9million votes to place second in the keenly contested poll, against 8.9 million votes garnered by Tinubu
The Adamawa born politician’s first attempt to be President was in 1993, during the botched Third republic, in 1993, when he contested the presidential primary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). The ambition did not crystalize as he came third in the presidential primary. Nevertheless, in 1999, Atiku emerged vice president to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the
Atiku, in pursuit of his presidential ambition, had moved across several political parties. In the run-up to the 2007 polls, the former vice president, who had fallen out with Obasanjo, joined the defunct Action Congress (AC), and contested the presidential poll as the party’s candidate.
Prior to the 2011 polls, Atiku, who had returned to the PDP after falling to actualise his ambition in AC, made his third attempt at the presidency. Regardless, he lost the opposition party’s ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
For the 2015 general elections, the former vice president contested and lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket to President Buhari. Atiku and other aggrieved leaders of the PDP had collaborated with members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to form the APC in 2013.
The former vice president, after an unsuccessful bid for the APC 2015 presidential ticket, returned again to the PDP in 2018 and emerged the opposition presidential party’s standard bearer for the 2019 polls. Nevertheless, he lost the main election to President Buhari.
However, with President Buhari ineligible to contest the 2023 polls, Atiku saw last Saturday’s election as his golden chance to be president. During a consultative meeting with the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), the former Vice President had boasted that he already had 11 million votes in his kitty.
“I dare say Mr. chairman, I am the best candidate. Under normal circumstances Mr. Chairman, this is a guy who already has 11 million votes in his kitty.” His optimism was hinged on two factors- the alleged abysmal performance of the APC and the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari would not be in the ballot in the 2023 polls,” he declared .
And when the APC nominated Tinubu as it’s presidential candidate, the former vice president men went into a frenzy. For them, Atiku Presidency was a done deal. The calculation within the PDP was that there was no way the former Lagos governor would defeat a northern candidate. Alas! They were wrong as the election results later proved.
In the days leading to the election, the PDP candidate was very confident that he was going to win. So, was the leadership of his party. For the former vice president and his allies, February 25 was their day of glory.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, few days to the poll, had told Daily Sun that there was no stopping the opposition party ‘s candidate. Ologunagba had explained:”We have campaigned vigorously round the country. We have stayed on issues. Our candidate has engaged Nigerians passionately; identifying the issues that are relevant to our country.”
He added: “we are satisfied with what we have done. We are confident that the team we have will win; particularly since the Nigerian people are looking for hope. And they have found out that in the capacity, energy, mental alertness in our candidate. And he has remained presidential above the sail…
“We are connected with the Nigerian people. We care about Nigerian people. Nigerian people have gone through a lot in the last seven and half years. And they can compare between 2015 and what we have now.”
Nevertheless, by the time the collation was completed, the hopes of Atiku succeeding President Buhari has gone up in flame. The question, therefore, is how did the cookies crumble for the Adamawa born politician?
Delta State governor and PDP vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa opines that the election was flawed as the electoral body allegedly failed to comply with the Electoral Act, as regards the transmission of election results directly from the polling units to its server.
“We wish to state for the records that last weekend’s election was a sham. It was neither free nor fair. What played out yesterday at the National Collation Center exposes the National Chairman of playing to a predetermined script. Our position remains that the election and transmission of the results must be in tandem with the Electoral Act and the INEC guidelines,” Okowa stated at a joint press briefing with the Labour Party Vice Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
Nevertheless, analysts attribute Atiku’s loss at last Saturday’s election to one major factor- over confidence by the candidate that the PDP will sweep the polls in the North; inability of the opposition party to resolve the issues within its fold, ahead of the presidential poll and the fact that both the former vice president and his men underrated the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Recall that in the aftermath of the party’s presidential primary, the PDP has been on a warpath with a group of five governors and the supporters, led by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike. Other members of the G-5 governors included Samuel Ortom, Benue; Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu and Seyi Makinde, Oyo.
The Wike group, which felt offended that Atiku had chosen Okowa as running mate, instead of the Rivers governor, who came second in the presidential primary, had insisted that the PDP chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, should be replaced with a Southerner as condition for their support for the former vice president.
However, Atiku said he cannot force Ayu to quit as party chairman while the PDP chairman said he can only relinquish his position after the party wins the presidential poll. Consequently, the party went into the contest without the support of five of its governor- a development some elders of the party had warned would have dire consequences.
Also, analysts say the defection of Obi and former Kano State governor, from the PDP, also robbed the party of its traditional support base, as the results of February 25 election have shown.
The Labour Party candidate ‘s exit from the major opposition party, alienated voters in the South East, from the PDP, making it impossible for the latter to score 25 percent in a zone it hitherto called the shots. Also, the Obi tsunami also cost the PDP valuable votes in Plateau State, Lagos State, Nasarawa State, the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) amongst others. Ironically, PDP leaders had dismissed the former Anambra governor as a “social media candidate”.
Similarly, Kwankwaso’s participation in the presidential election as candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party ( NNPP) also dealt a lethal blow to the PDP in Kano State, which is one of the states with the highest number of registered voters.
As Atiku and the PDP rue their loss in the February 25 polls, the big question is what next for the 76 years old former vice president? Is this the end of his presidential ambition or a temporary setback in his quest to preside over the country?
