Atiku: I Didn’t Say I’ll Stepdown for Anyone, I Vowed to Support Whoever Wins

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, said at no point did he expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intended to step down his presidential bid for anyone.

Atiku explained that what he said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, were free to contest and he would support whoever emerged from a decent contest.

He stressed that insinuations being peddled that he would step down for another candidate were false.

The former vice president explained further that he only said if a younger candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without hesitation.

He said while interpretative journalism was a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief was unacceptable and must not be encouraged.

In a statement by his media office, signed by Paul Ibe, Atiku stated that it became necessary to clarify certain misrepresentations arising from the reportage of an interview he granted to BBC Hausa Service in some sections of the media.

The statement emphasised that after a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview – in the original Hausa and the English translation – it was evident that at no point did Atiku state, suggest, or even imply that he intended to step down for anyone.

“For the records, therefore, the insinuations attributed to the Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not reflect what he actually said,” the statement said.