THISDAY

THE SEARCH ON ATIKU’S JET

- Usman Santuraki, Jambutu, Jimeta

It really seems agents of the present administra­tion are deliberate­ly harassing the presidenti­al candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, who from all intents, is poised to give the incumbent president a good run for his money in 2019.

The administra­tion in their myopic thinking thought that the presidenti­al candidate of the PDP brought in foreign currencies in his bid for the number one seat. The security agencies thought that Atiku brought foreign currencies, an erroneous impression created by his political adversarie­s that he used foreign currencies particular­ly the American dollars to win the presidenti­al candidacy in Port Harcourt during the PDP’s convention.

It is very important to stress the point that what the administra­tion of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing is just to intimidate Atiku Abubakar. But this cannot dampen Atiku’s spirit in charting a new course for the corporate existence of this great country. Atiku Abubakar is a shrewd politician who fully knows his onions especially in a quagmire such as now. No matter what anyone would say, Atiku has reached a certain level that whether you like it or not, he cannot be easily cowed.

The Minister of State (Aviation) Hadi Sirika’s defence about the humiliatio­n of the PDP’s candidate when he landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Internatio­nal Airport from Dubai is not tenable. What was done was craftily planned and executed by the top notchers of the Buhari administra­tion in order to intimidate and if possible humiliate the presidenti­al candidate of the PDP and nothing more than

that. For the benefit of those who may not know, Atiku Abubakar is a stickler of the rule of law and as such cannot be found wanting. So it was a big slap for the administra­tion for searching the PDP’s candidate jet on his arrival from Dubai.

From what was done to the candidate of the main opposition party in the race for 2019, there is the likelihood that it is not going to be smooth sailing for the presidenti­al candidate of the PDP because those in power are not well-disposed to providing a level playing field.

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