Sources close to Atiku’s latest move have said the ex- VP is reaching out to some serving and former governors of both the APC and PDP, all in an effort to increase his political weight ahead of 2019, Daily Trust reports.
NAIJ.com gathered that that one of the sources involved in the talks said, “There are some former PDP governors who joined the APC with the dream of being carried along but have been left hanging, and there are serving governors of both the APC and PDP; they are the people Atiku is courting now and earnestly seeking for their support.
“Historically, PDP governors determine who gets what during conventions and considering that Atiku has his strong structure and money on ground to execute his project, he wants to work closely with them; in fact he might take one of them from the south if he gets the presidential ticket,” he said.
Another source said some APC governors who believe in Atiku’s pedigree might not defect now until probably when he fully settles in PDP and see what the convention will look like.
“There are many serving and former members of the National Assembly who are in talks with him; they would leave the APC for the PDP provided the high profile consultation Atiku is making clicked,” he said.
Daily Trust also gathered that Atiku is also in talks “directly and by proxy” with former President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders of the party to see how they could work together.
“He is trying to reach out to the likes of Bamanga Tukur, Adamu Chiroma, Edwin Clark and as you know, Jonathan will definitely like somebody with Atiku’s credentials as PDP flag-bearer,” the source said.
“And thank God, the Waziri Adamawa has reached out to the former president and though all of them have issues with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, they are trying to cement their relationships with him,” he said.
