Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has debunked claims that his media organisation chose Abeokuta as venue for an upcoming policy review summit to get President Olusegun Obasanjo to endorse him for the 2015 presidential election.
Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had recently visited Obasanjo in Abeokuta to ask for his opinion on a choice of candidate for the party in the coming presidential election. Atiku’s decision to hold the policy review at the Obasanjo Presidential Library is therefore suspected as a plot by Atiku, to get the attention of the former president.
“Abeokuta is a more serene atmosphere for thinking and suits our purpose. It is not a strategy for endorsement,” said Atiku in a media briefing on Monday.
“Obasanjo is in the PDP; he has a right to endorse anyone he wants as president but you will agree with me that the ultimate choice lies with the electorate,” he added.
He explained that the purpose of the news conference was to announce the upcoming summit and also fine-tune the elemental details of a document he called the Atiku 2015 Policy Document.
“The draft policy to be reviewed was drawn up within the context of the manifesto of our party, the APC. This document provides an overview of our policy position.
“The main thrust is the explicit bid to modify the way the machinery of Federal Government works by
clarifying and streamlining MDAs remits and responsibilities, removing overlaps and operational redundancies.”
Speaking briefly on the policy areas, Atiku said the key ones to be reviewed were employment generation and wealth creation, infrastructure and power.
Others are education and skills acquisition, security, citizenship and governance, agriculture and food security as well as the Niger Delta and North-East re-integration.