Atiku Refused to Betray Obasanjo Despite Governors’ Push for His Presidency — Ibe

Former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the action democratic congress (ADC) in the 2027 election Atiku Abubakar reportedly refused to betray then-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, despite efforts by some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to position him for the presidency, according to Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe.

Ibe made the claim while responding to recent allegations by former President Obasanjo concerning his former deputy and the political events surrounding their administration between 1999 and 2007.

According to Ibe, former Abia State Governor, Orji Kalu, had disclosed in a video that Atiku knelt before PDP governors to seek their support for Obasanjo’s re-election rather than pursue his own presidential ambition.

Ibe quoted Kalu as saying that about 17 PDP governors had backed plans that could have paved the way for Atiku to become President.

“Atiku was almost a President. We had gotten everyone to postpone the (PDP) Convention and had gotten what we needed to move forward,” Kalu reportedly said.

However, according to the account cited by Ibe, Atiku declined to take advantage of the situation, saying Obasanjo had trusted him and given him the opportunity to work with him.

“That he cannot betray Obasanjo,” Kalu reportedly said.

Ibe presented the account as a contradiction of what he described as attempts to portray Atiku as disloyal to Obasanjo during their years in government.

The media aide also disputed Obasanjo’s recent allegation that Atiku mobilised the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to impeach him.

Ibe cited former House Chief Whip Abubakar Bawa Bwari, who he said was directly involved in the politics of the period, as contradicting the allegation.

He further revisited the controversy surrounding the investigation of Atiku over the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), alleging that the probe was politically motivated because of Atiku’s opposition to Obasanjo’s third-term ambition.