Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday in Abuja revealed that communication channels between himself and President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua remained open, even as he insisted that the latter�s government is illegal.
Atiku who spoke with journalists described President Yar�Adua as his brother, affirming, �This President and I belong to the same family. We are brothers. We are in communication and we will remain in communication.�
He nevertheless clarified that such contacts were without prejudice to the on-going case at the Presidential Elections Tribunal where he is challenging the election of Yar�Adua.
He said his long trip abroad was not because of EFCC harassment but that what kept him away for so long was due to the need to take time out to recover from his knee injury, which was very complicated.
�In fact, my doctor confirmed I had a fast recovery, and that usually it would not take less than a year to attain the stage of recovery I am at now. That was what kept me away.�
Atiku said he was not jolted by the exit of Abubakar Rimi from AC back to PDP. �I was not surprised because even before I left the country, one of them had told me that he was looking for a job. So I was not surprised.�
On the reconciliation efforts in PDP, he said he was not aware of such moves, adding that nobody has contacted him.
Reacting to Prof. Jubril Aminu�s assertion that he (Atiku) would not be welcomed back to the party, he retorted: �I don�t want to comment on Jubril Aminu. Aminu is a political nonentity. Yes he is. So I don�t want to comment on that.�
Speaking on the government of national unity (GNU), he said �I think a leading member of our party had asked the PDP government why they needed a government of national unity when the party has 80 per cent of National Assembly members, more than 85 or 90 per cent of other elected members.�
He said the fact that PDP is looking for a GNU means that there is something wrong and that there is a question mark.
With regard to the president�s recent accusation of the opposition fuelling the crisis in the Niger Delta, he described it as unfounded, stressing that the situation in the Niger Delta has historical antecedents, �unless, he had more facts he has not disclosed.�
�What I know is that in AC, fighting and crises are not part of our culture. Our culture is observance of the law and insistence on due process. We are interested in the rule of law.�
He said that if he meets Obasanjo he would greet him as his former president but disclosed he has never made any effort to call him since they left office in May. He disclosed that the last time he went to Ota was in 1998 to invite him to join PDP.
He declined comments on his assessment of the incumbent administration noting, �If I have any comment about the administration, I will take it to President Yar�Adua. I know how to reach him, if I have any advice for him.
Atiku said he has no regrets working with Obasanjo, �because I now know Obasanjo better. Nobody in this country has worked with Obasanjo for eight years. I am the only one, so I know him better.�
He hailed the proposed electoral reform by the president as an idea that is good. �We have to have electoral reforms. It is good. But we have to be very careful with the people we entrust with power.�
The former Vice President denied allegations that Yar�Adua was using his gazetted indictment to blackmail him to drop his petition at the tribunal. He said there was only one gazette on the indictment which has been quashed by the court.
Regarding alleged pressure by some traditional rulers on him to withdraw his petition against Yar�Adua, he said no northern Emir has contacted him so far.
Atiku said his message to Nigerians is that they should demand their rights and put pressure on their leaders to do the right thing. They should insist on selecting those who should lead them to make sure that only the right people who are dedicated to the welfare and development of the country are elected.
The main problem with PDP, he said is that it is not democratic. �It ceased to be democratic a long time ago. You remember the people that went to court to challenge the election of Ahmadu Ali as PDP chairman and the court said that he and others were not elected. The ruling stands till date. There is no democracy in PDP. Actually the collapse of democracy in PDP was part of the problem of the country,� Atiku pointed out, disclosing that the PDP continues to puzzle to him.
On the claim that Obasanjo was controlling, Yar�Adua, he said he did not know that. �But this is the same PDP government. So this is a continuation of an element of the Obasanjo administration. It is the same PDP, and a continuation of Obasanjo�s government.�
He criticized PDP for lacking internal discipline and cohesion, stating the issue of internal democracy is very fundamental to the management of a party. �I remember I even delivered a paper on this. If you don�t have internal democracy within the political party, how do you ensure democracy in the country? This is one aspect of the puzzle.�
Another problem with PDP, according to him is that it has been factionalized and structured in such a way that you cannot even express your own view.
�I remember in the early days when we used to have National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings, we used to have very robust arguments on issues. But close to my exit in PDP, there was no such thing,� he said while regretting the hijack of the PDP.
On due process and rule of law that have been brought to bear on the operations of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) by this administration, he had this to say: �I believe that the position of government on due process and rule of law have helped to curb and remove the excesses of the EFCC. Nobody is saying that EFCC should not fight corruption but it should do that within the ambit of the law. The commission itself is a creation of law.�
Commenting on his case with US congressman, Jefferson, he explained, �You journalists are the ones making the case look the way it has. Nobody has ever questioned me in the United States. Nobody, definitely nobody. The only questions I got on this matter were here in Nigeria.�
Atiku said he would be jetting out of the country for his next appointment with his doctor in another two months.
Nov42007