Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that his major fallout with Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, in 2007, was because he wanted to be his running mate in the 2007 presidential election.
Speaking on Friday on the Arise News TV, Atiku said the Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC was “unwelcoming and unripe for Nigeria as a democratic state.”
“Asiwaju planned to be my running mate in 2007 but I disagreed. I have always opposed Muslim-Muslim ticket. I don’t believe this is ripe for countries like Nigeria. There should be balance.
“Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi- religious nation and there should be a religious balance in our leadership,” Atiku said.
The PDP presidential candidate expressed confidence that he will defeat the APC presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He also dismissed the insinuation that the emergence of Senator Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate will reduce his chances in the North-East region come 2023.
The former vice president, when asked about his relationship with his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said Obasanjo does not have a better presidential candidate to support than himself.
Atiku said he has been talking to the former president, adding that the only thing he has yet to do was to visit him after his emergence as the PDP presidential candidate.
When asked if Atiku has or needs Obasanjo’s support, Atiku simply said, “Why will I not need his support? He was my former boss. Why will I not need his support? Of course I will need his support. I assume I have it.”
The former vice president of Nigeria noted that he still has the legacy of former President Obasanjo to continue.
