Atiku says, he will support APC candidate if he lose

Former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, on Tuesday said he would
support whoever emerged as the
presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress, if he lost the
party’s ticket.
Atiku said this while addressing the
APC Enugu State national delegates at
the Nike Lake Resort Hotels in Enugu
on Tuesday evening.
He also said he would not criticise the
other presidential aspirants.
Atiku, however, stressed that he was a
better candidate than his rivals.
“Whether I win this primary or not, I
will support whoever wins. That is
why in all my public speeches I will
not criticise any candidate,” he said.
He explained that the APC presidential
aspirants had agreed to support one
another.
Atiku said, “This is an undertaking we
made that we will support each other
and never criticise one another in
public. We have to start the change at
the leadership level.”
Continuing, Atiku urged the APC
members to support their party’s
candidates, even when the particular
candidate they prefered failed to
emerge as the flag bearer.
He argued that good governance was
better than selfish gains.
The former vice president said,
“Whoever wins the nomination, don’t
work against the party. It is better for
you. Your life will be better, the life of
your family will be better.
“It is better for you to have the
government than to remain in
opposition because your candidate did
not win.
“Good governance is better for you
than whatever you can put in your own
pocket.”
Abubakar also spoke of the qualities
that made him better than his rivals.
He said, “There is no part of this
country that I cannot call a home –
none of the rest can boast of this
quality. Besides, none of them have
acquired the experience I have
acquired politically.
“Even when situations appeared
favourable to me personally, I rejected
in the interest of this country. I have
fought many political battles for
democracy, the rule of law and the
survival of our democratic
dispensation.
“I have prepared myself over the
years to serve, I have the experience
to serve and I want to serve.”
Abubakar, who spoke of his humble
beginnings, noted that he was
fortunate to go to school on
scholarship, while also expressing
reservations that the situation was no
longer the same in the country.
He added, “I am today a self-fulfilled
person. I am not looking for anything.
The only passion I have is that I will
never allow this country to be mis-
governed. Today, the PDP is mis-
governing this country to a level I have
never seen in my life.”
Atiku noted that if there was no
change in 2015, “PDP will destroy the
country and we will be looking for
another country because it will be too
late.”
He donated N5m to the Enugu State
chapter of the APC and another N1m to
the chapter’s elders.