Ebun Francis
Presidential aspirant and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar on Monday claimed he was in a position dislodge Bola Ahmed Tinubu as governor of Lagos State in 2003 but failed to do, a decision he said, he has since come to regret.
Atiku explained that he deliberately did not do much to win Lagos because of his relationship with Bola Tinubu the then governor of the state.
Atiku made the disclosure in Lagos while holding a meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Lagos as part of his nationwide tour to drum support for his Presidential aspiration.
According to the Adamawa state born politician, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo gave him the mandate to deliver the six south-west states then governed by the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP.
Atiku captured all the states except Lagos.
He said, “When we came to power in 1999, the entire south-western states were controlled by the AD. And when we were approaching the 2003 elections, I told my boss, give me the chance to take over the south-west and he gave me that authority, and I took all the states with the exception of Lagos.”
“Why? Because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and I came a long way from the SDP, PDM and all of that, and I felt I should leave Lagos for him. In fact, I could easily have taken over Lagos, but I did not.
“I have since regretted my decision; please, my sisters and brothers in the party, I want you to forgive me for taking Lagos out of that arrangement.
“If I have another opportunity again, Lagos will be taken to where it belongs. So, I am appealing to you to give me that opportunity so that I can correct the mistakes that I made.”
The former vice president who said he is in the race to reposition the country and put it on the path of progress given that the ruling APC has failed the people.
He promised to restructure the country within six months in office if elected.
He said, “If I am elected, I will make the centre unattractive and ensure that power devolves to the states.”