Atiku campaign train storms Anambra today for grand rally

By: Ikenna Oluka

Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 16 poll, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will today, Thursday, January 31, 2019, storm Anambra State for a grand rally to further his quest to become Nigeria’s next President.

The rally is expected to hold at Holy Trinity Cathedral field in Onitsha.

Disclosing this in an interview with journalists in Awka on Wednesday, the Chairman of Atiku-Obi Campaign Council, Mr Oseloka Obaze, said the rally is expected to be the grandest of all, because. the Vice Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, is from the state.

He reeled out activities of the visit to include a courtesy visit to the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, as well as a closed-door meeting with other traditional rulers in the state, and Presidents-General of town unions.

Responding to a question on whether the PDP candidate would visit the mausoleum of the late first president of Nigeria, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, in Onitsha, Obaze said it was not part their programme.

He explained that a visit to mausoleum would be most ideal at a later date, “not now that it has become over politicised.”

The retired diplomat to United Nations said: “We are very positive about Zik as our national hero. My party and our candidate also have high regard for him but Zik is dead and shouldn’t be used in a partisanship way.”

Obaze, however, observed that no single government should take credit for the mausoleum, noting that various governments in power since 1997 have contributed in one way or the other to building.

He added: “The Mausoleum is a tourist attraction that will be there for years. Credit must be given to other contributors to Zik’s Mausoleum.

“It must be put on record that no single government built the Zik mausoleum. Several governments had worked on the mausoleum since 1997.

“So, no single government should be given the credit of building the project. It’s wrong to say that a man who fixed the keys to the doors of a house built the entire house.”

On the issue of some groups and individuals criticising Ohanaeze Ndigbo for endorsing Atiku/Obi ticket, Obaze said that Ohaneze is not answerable to government saying that it exists in another trajectory.

He described those that criticised the Ohanaeze President, Chief Nnia Nwodo, as people that lacked courage saying that he will support him to the end.

His words: “Nnia Nwodo, by his statement, is not shopping for recognition, but rather, after a critical look at the manifestos of other political party’s candidate, he discovered that PDP candidate has what will benefit the Igbos more and went for it.

“He is a very educated cosmopolitan and he understands politics.

“The government has the right to accept or dissent, but because you pay some stipend to a group does not make them a puppet to the government.”