Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar
said yesterday he had been side-lined by President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government which he said he helped into power in 2015.
Atiku’s
pot-shot at the government came on a day one of Buhari’s ministers said
she would resign from the cabinet should Atiku announce today he would
run for president in 2019.
The Minister for Women Affairs,
Jummai Alhassan told the BBC Hausa Service yesterday that Atiku Ãs her
godfather and she would support him against President Buhari should both
of them decide to run in the elections in 2019.
In an interview
aired during yesterday’s morning programme of the Hausa Service of the
Voice of America (VOA), Atiku said he had been sidelined despite the
fact that he used his contacts and resources to defeat the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
Atiku spoke from Yola, Adamawa State where he celebrated the Eid-el- Kabir festival.
“Honestly
speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the
processes, including campaigns until success was achieved.
“But
sadly, soon after the formation of government; I was side-lined, I have
no any relationship with the government, I’ve not been contacted even
once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintained my distance. They
used our money and influence to get to where they’re but three years
down the lane, this is where we are,” Atiku said.
He praised
President Muhammadu Buhari on the successes recorded in the fight
against Boko Haram, but said it was not yet time to celebrate because
the ruling government had failed in many fronts.
“Yes, there were
successes but not comprehensive success because the Boko Haram
miscreants are still very active, killing our people and many local
government councils in Borno and Yobe are under their firm grip. People
cannot dare go back to their dwellings
“This thing baffles me; I
never imagined that Nigeria will fight a protracted battle with Boko
Haram for five years. At a time, we fought the Biafra war, which was
more complicated because of the terrain in the South but the Biafran
soldiers were roundly subdued in 30 months. But here we’re, fighting an
endless battle with the Boko Haram and there’s no end in sight,” he
said.
On corruption, Atiku said very little was achieved in that
respect. “How many people were arrested, prosecuted and jailed? How much
was recovered from the looters?” he asked.
“When we came on
board in 1999, I remember we recovered between $4.5 and $4.7 billion
from those that looted under (Late Sani) Abacha.”
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