•Says Buhari doesn’t even understand what parliament stands for
•Pledges robust bonding with legislature
•Postponing election won’t halt Tinubu’s defeat, says PDP campaign
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, Sunday night, said his relationship with the National Assembly stopped the purported third term agenda of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Atiku, who addressed National Assembly members of his party in rounding off his rally and promised to maintain a robust working relationship with the federal lawmakers if elected this Saturday, said one of the problems with the current administration was that President Muhammadu Buhari did not even understand what the legislature stood for.
This is as the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, yesterday, counseled the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign to end its secretive plots for the postponement of February 25 presidential election, because it would not save them of the impending defeat.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Atiku promised a robust engagement with the lawmakers if elected president, recalling that it was that kind of relationship he had with the National Assembly as vice president that enabled the legislature to foil the third term bid of Obasanjo.
“A lot has been said about your role. Those of you who are members of the National Assembly have been performing your roles. But let me say that it is very important as members of the same party to have a robust engagement and understanding in our respective duties.
“During my tenure as vice president, I developed a very intimate relationship with members of the National Assembly and it is that relationship that enabled us to stop a third term or life presidency attempt by President Obasanjo
“I really look forward to engaging you again, as regards to the National Assembly, for your constitutional functions to further deepen democracy, development, and progress of our nation. Our nation has found itself in one of the most challenging times in the history of this country.
“You know that we are more divided than ever before, because of the activities and the policies of the current APC government. Likewise, our security situation has gone from bad to worse. Our economy is in shambles. These are very serious challenges facing us, you in particular, and also the executive.
“We must work together to take out the country from its present predicament and malaise. These are no main challenges. These are challenges that the constitution has bestowed on both of us to discharge.
“I, therefore, want to wish you success in this deliberation and to assure you the most important thing if you’re elected and I’m elected, you are not going to work with somebody unknown or somebody who doesn’t have the experience.
“Like what we have currently today, we have a president who doesn’t even understand what the National Assembly stands for. So, you’re going to walk with somebody, who has worked with the National Assembly before and successfully too, facing the incumbent president and still making sure that we protected the constitution.”
After the meeting attended by Atiku and all the PDP National Assembly candidates, a communique read by the Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda, the lawmakers said they were committed to improving transparency and accountability across the whole government
“We commit to the reduction of the cost of government through improving citizen oversight and a strong emphasis on curbing waste and cost reduction. We commit to reducing multidimensional poverty by 40% over the next 4 years and putting food on the tables of Nigerians again.
“We commit to reducing our unsustainable national debts. We commit to greater investment in education and infrastructure by incrementally increasing budgetary allocation starting from the next budget. We commit to quick passage of bills that devolve more powers to subnational governments.
“We commit to securing Nigerians through robust conflict resolution mechanisms and improved welfare and funding of security agencies,” the communique pledged.
Meanwhile, the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, in a statement by one of the spokespersons, Kola Ologbondiyan, said, “Our campaign and, of course, the generality of Nigerians reject the pressure by the jittery and deflated Tinubu/Shettima Campaign for the postponement of the election.
“We hold that the demand for postponement by the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign is a ploy to further create confusion and derail the electoral process having become terrified by the looming devastating defeat that awaits Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) at the polls.”
The campaign reminded the Tinubu Campaign of how its chief campaigner, a hate-inclined governor of a prominent North West state was said to have been humiliated at the last Council of State meeting, where he reportedly went to push a failed memo for the postponement of the election for some few weeks.
According to Ologbondiyan, “Our campaign has also been reliably informed that this APC governor is demanding the postponement because the APC Candidate, Tinubu, cannot by any measure win election, given his overwhelming rejection by Nigerians.
“It is pathetic that after its defeat at the Council of State meeting, the Tinubu Campaign is still perching around media platforms and seeking the postponement of the elections,” adding that, the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign must accept the reality that the train has already left the station and Nigerians had since made up their minds to elect Atiku Abubakar as next President.
