In what appears to be a mockery of other presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar, has hinted that other presidential candidates are not ready given that they could not even pick a running mate before the INEC deadline.
Chronicle NG had reported that Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Peter Obi of Labour Party both named place holders in a bid to beat the INEC deadline.
While APC’s Tinubu picked Ibrahim Masari and Labour’s Obi chose Doyin Okupe.
They both have a 30-day window to replace them with their substantive running mates.
In a statement to reiterate his preparedness, Atiku said: “The office of the president in particular requires that the holder of that office must have clarity of the mind on decision-making.
“That is why in countries that have acquired more experiences in democratic acculturation, the choice that a presidential candidate makes about their running mates, and how they make the decision, provides a window of assessing their preparedness for the job that potentially waits ahead of them.”
“In meeting up with this expectation, and more importantly to ensure that I make a pick of a running mate that you shall be proud of, it became necessary for me to be introspective about my choice.”
Atiku added that, “Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and I share a lot of personality attributes in common. He is a fine gentleman, but tenacious. His experience as a Senator will come in handy in some of the legislative reforms that are urgently needed to reformat our governmental processes.
“Ifeanyi and I are incurable optimists in the future of Nigeria and the promises it holds as one united, peaceful and prosperous country.
Atiku noted that, “Having him on the ticket brings a lot of asset to our campaign. In the months ahead to the general election, together with other great leaders of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party and, with your esteemed support, we shall work very hard to ensure convincing victory for our party.
“A victory for the PDP in the general election is a victory for Nigeria. When we win, Nigeria wins. The stakes in the election are very high, and it gives me tremendous joy that I can count on your support to win the election and get to work in earnest.”, Atiku said.
