Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is committed to the coalition against President Bola Tinubu.
Naija News reports that Lawal, while featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, said Atiku is the most active participant in the quest for the actualisation of the opposition coalition, stating he has met him in many political meetings.
Lawal disclosed that in all their analysis, everyone has said the PDP cannot be adopted for coalition because the party has an incurable virus.
He said, “Atiku is entitled to his political ambition like every other Nigerian, it’s not for me to decide which platform Atiku will contest, it’s for him and his inner circle to decide.
“In most of the political meetings I have attended with regards to merger or the new political platform, I have run into Atiku severally – he has been an active participant on the need for opposition political parties to move into one platform to form one strong opposition party.
“We have a technical committee of experts who analyze all the possible political parties we could adapt and move in to, to strengthen it and make it more suitable, and Atiku has presented himself at all such meetings. My reading of him is that he is committed to this course. In fact, he is one of the most committed to this course.
“As to the coalition itself, it’s mostly driven by prominent politicians who agree to come together to form this coalition.
“In all the analysis I have seen so far, nobody has said we should adopt the PDP because we have all agreed that the party has an incurable virus, and anti-biotics can’t cure it – so we can’t go into a house that is not remodified and not willing to change.”
The elder statesman also expressed happiness that people describe him as a religious bigot.
He said, “I’m a trained pastor and went to the seminary for four years and I augmented by religious background with a masters in theology so if you call me a Christian religious bigot, I’m very happy because it’s a compliment. It means that my lifestyle conveys that I’m a Christian.”