I Don’t Owe PDP, They Should Be Thankful To Me – Atiku

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that he does not owe his enstranged political party, PDP, any thanks as alleged by the party, and that instead, the party should be thankful to him.

Atiku was reacting to a recent statement credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, when he said the ex-VP owed the party a debt of gratitude for making him a vice president between 1999-2007.

But the former Vice President in a statement on Sunday said that contrary to the claim by the leadership of the PDP, it was indeed his former party that owes him a debt of thanks.

The statement particularly noted that neither Metuh nor anyone currently in position of authority in the PDP today was there when the PDP was formed.

He said, “If the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP doesn’t have the knowledge of how the party came into being, then it will be in order that he goes into the archives and read about the history of the party and the roles certain individuals, particularly former Vice President ,Atiku Abubakar played in building the party.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar does not owe the PDP. Rather, it is the PDP that owes him a debt of thanks. Where were Metuh and his paymasters when the PDP was in its formative stage? If he and his paymasters came as free riders into the party, that shouldn’t mean they have the licence to distort history.

“The demagogic outburst and the repeated innuendoes by which the PDP has been nursing its wounds following the exit of its founding fathers will do no good for the party to reverse the trend of how it is fast losing acceptability by the Nigerian people.”

He said, “Nigerians need good governance. They need to be told how the only country we all call home can be safe for each and every one of us. Nigerians need a political party that will work on the parlous state of the country’s economy and restore financial confidence to Nigerians who work hard to support their families. The youths of Nigeria need a political party that can give them a direction to the future.
“There are very many challenges besetting the country today and it will be incongruous that a political party in government will ignore these challenges and continue to vituperate over individuals who have deserted its fold to join forces with other political parties better suited to provide solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the country.”

In a swift reaction, Metuh said though he would not exchange words with Atiku, he however maintained that he has been in the party since inception.