JAGISTS

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar is not running for presidency in the 2023 elections to engage in drug trafficking, money laundering, forgery and perjury, his aide, Paul Ibe has said.

According to him, those are the territories of the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Ahmed Tinubu.

Ibe said Abubakar is running to make Nigeria better for Nigerians.

On Friday, in Delta State, Tinubu had taken a swipe on Atiku for contesting several times in his quest to become Nigeria’s president.

“There are few of us left running, one says he is Atiku, how many times has he been running? He is always on the run and he is tired. Tell him to go and sit down. Enough is enough,” Tinubu said.

However, in a telephone conversation with Channels Television correspondent on Saturday, Atiku’s aide said his principal is only concerned about recovering Nigeria for the good of all.

“It’s only in this country that you put people who are sane in the same environment with people who are mental. It is really unfortunate.

“Let me start with where Atiku is not running to. He is not running to drug trafficking and money laundering. That’s Asiwaju’s territory. He is not running to forgery and perjury, forging documents and all. He is not running there. He is not running to a shaded past, early stages of life that are unknown. He is not running to hiding one’s medical state,” Ibe said.

After serving as the Vice President of Nigeria from 1999-2007, Atiku contested on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) which had Tinubu as at that time.

He also aspired in 2011 and 2014 but did not get his party’s ticket.

In 2019 when he got the ticket of the PDP, he lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, Ibe said Atiku has enough good reasons to contest in the 2023 presidential polls.

“He is running to make Nigeria better for Nigerians; he is running to use his experience to transform and recover Nigeria for the good of all. He is running to unify the country that has been divided by over seven years of a clueless and incompetent APC administration foisted on us by characters like Tinubu. That’s why he is running,” he said.