The Imo State Governor,
Chief Rochas Okorocha, has said that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar resigning from the
ruling All Progressives Congress was not a good development for the party.
Atiku recently defected
from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of the 2019
Presidential Election.
The Imo State Governor
spoke with journalists after receiving an honorary doctorate degree at the
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State on Saturday.
He however, described
Abubakar as a heavyweight politician.
He said, “I have taken
a holistic view of our party, it (Atiku’s exit ) is not the best because no
matter how anybody thinks, Atiku carries some political weight . His leaving
our party is not the best.
Okorocha, however, said
that since the former Vice President had decided to move on politically by
going to another political party, the APC would make amend and his (Atiku)
place will be filled up accordingly.
Reacting to Tinubu’s
comment on automatic ticket for Buhari, Okorocha maintained that he would
support Buhari for a second term.
Okorocha said, “The
(Tinubu’s) statement came to me as a surprise, come to think of it, I never
referred to him. I refer to the governors of Nigeria including the PDP
governors and I said only one or two of them have not joined yet.
“Since I made the
statement, no governor has said something contrary to what I said. I am
surprised that Asiwaju will now be speaking for the governors. He looks like
somebody crying more than the bereaved.
“I did not see reason
for the statement actually. But he commands my respect and I don’t want to join
issue with the National Leader of my party.
“What I mentioned was
for the governors and secondly what I said is support.
“The word I use is
support that does not mean there will not be primary.
“Governors can only
contribute only 37 votes, we still have over 5 ,000 votes up there . What I was
talking about was governors.
“I was not talking
about other party members . Governors alone do not determine the flagbearer of
a party.
“If you recall, I said
but for Buhari, I would have run for presidency of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
“But I found in him a
man credible and he still has four years term to do.
“I will allow him to
complete and I will go back to my political trenches because I would still run
for presidency anyhow.
“I consider myself
young enough to wait until 2023 and I don’t hide my stand on any issue. But for
now , my support goes to President Muhammadu Buhari.”
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