Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday said that the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has the temperament and experience to be president.
” He will bring honour and dignity to his office if given the mandate by Nigerians, he said at the Lamido Fombina Palace, Yola, where Atiku was turbaned the 7th Waziri Adamawa by His Royal Majesty, Alhaji Muhammadu Aliyu Barkindo Mustapha, the Lamido of Adamawa.
“I am sure you will bring honour to this position and I want to thank you, Waziri for doing all of us proud,” he said. “No matter the issues today, I know you will not disappoint. When we were in Abuja dealing with national and international issues, you did not take lightly the cultural heritage of your people.
Obasanjo further stated that the challenges Nigeria faces domestically and internationally demand a steady hand, a cool head and the ability to think carefully before acting.
Atiku knows how to compromise and to lead with intelligence, decorum and perspective. He has a record of public service as the Vice President, the former leader said after the ceremony.
” He has withstood decades of scrutiny so intense it would wither most politicians.”
” Get used to it when I call you Waziri. You did not respond quickly when I called you Waziri. You are used to Turaki, throw that away. Give it to someone else, ” he added amidst laughter from the capacity-filled crowd.
Dignitaries who were present at the occasion included former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, ex-Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Governors Ibrahim Dankwambo, Seriake Dickson, Darius Ishaku, Abdulfatai Ahmed and Udom Emmanuel of Gombe, Bayelsa, Taraba, Kwara and Akwa Ibom states respectively. Others included PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, PDP Board of Trustees chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, two-time governor of Kano state, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Chief of Army Staff, General Kenneth Minimah (retd), ex- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi, the lawmaker representing Bayelsa East, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, immediate past governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu and erstwhile governor of Adamawa state, Boni Haruna amongst others.
