Atiku returns after 7 months in Dubai
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23, 2019 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has returned to Nigeria after spending about seven months in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
His Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Paul Ibe, confirmed to our correspondent in a telephone interview that Atiku returned in the early hours of yesterday.
Atiku, a former vice president, who jetted out of the country since April, remained in the UAE over claims from some quarters of alleged plot by the current “government to give him the Abiola kind of treatment.”
Daily Trust gathered that the former vice president will today, visit his home state of Adamawa and pay condolences to the family of his aide who died recently.
Our correspondent also yesterday was Atiku’s birthday.
Speaking on why Atiku spent about seven months in the UAE, one of his allies said, “After the February 23 election, don’t forget that was a very hectic process, physically, spiritually, emotionally and otherwise. So, he took a break to go and rest. All of us did. I did too.”
But another highly placed source close reports that to the former vice president who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “He took a break after the elections and was planning to come back to attend a programme at the AUN and that was in May, he travelled in April.
“But there was credible information on the evil plots of these people. And they were planning the MKO Abiola model. We all know what happened in the case of MKO Abiola contrived allegations, arrest, and all of that. So he stayed away.
“We know the character of this administration, what they are capable of doing and we didn’t want him to be the issue.
“The issue now is democracy that is at a crossroad. And that is what everybody is focused on. It was only commonsense for him to stay away while all the processes were playing out,” he said.
Meanwhile, PDP has congratulated Atiku on his 73rd birthday, saying Nigerians would have been enjoying a breath of fresh air had the election gone his way.
The PDP in a congratulatory message to Atiku yesterday through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan described Atiku as an exceptional patriot, quintessential democrat, leading light and incontrovertible symbol of the collective quest by Nigerians for a united, peaceful, secure, democratic and prosperous nation.