Atiku has never been threat to Buhari, he will never be – Governor el-Rufai

*Says no APC governor will leave with ex-VP to PDP

Against speculations reported by different media that governors of All Progressives Congress (APC) would dump the party and leave with the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar, who, by his resignation at the weekend, ceased to be member of APC, Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, has debunked the reports saying that “no APC Governor will leave with Atiku”.

Governor el-Rufai, whose comments were captured in a video claimed to have been posted by The Nation Newspaper on Sunday, said if there was any APC governor who could have been thought to want to go with Atiku it would have been the governor of Adamawa State.  He however said even the Adamawa governor, among other governors he avoided mentioning their number, had endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for 2019 election.

He said he had advised Atiku since 2014 when he called him and he went to meet him in Dubai not to venture into contesting, as he said there was no Nigerian from Northern Nigeria, who would be able to match President Buhari in terms of popularity and that it was Buhari’s time and so that anybody trying to stand in the President’s way would only end up wasting his own time.

The governor was emphatic saying Atiku – even if he emerged as PDP’s candidate – had never been and would never be a threat to President Buhari’s chances in 2019.

Read him: “There is no governor in APC that is going to leave with the former Vice President.  The only governor that you will think will go with him, the Governor of Adamawa State, has already has endorsed President Buhari for the next election.  And many governors, and I will not mention number, majority of APC governors have already taken the position that the President should run for second term in office.  And we are grateful to the Almighty God that the question marks about his health have been put to rest.  He is getting better every day.

“And we are confident that the way to preserve our party and advance the interest of Nigeria is for Mr. President to run for a second term.  And I am curious to see which APC governor will go with Atiku.

“As for party loyalists, it depends on what you define by loyalists.  We will wait and see how that evolves.  But as a governor I want to assure you that no governor is going to leave the party with the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.  I can speak authoritatively on this because I am in touch with my colleagues.

Asked if Atiku’s presence in PDP will be of any threat to Buhari’s 2019, Governor el-Rufai said, “He has never been and he will never be a threat to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“And let me say this very, very clearly, and I said this to the former Vice President in January 2014 in Dubai when we met because, before joining the APC he sent for me and we met and he told me of his intention and I welcomed it because politics is a game of addition not subtraction.  The more you have the better.

“However, I told him not to run for the Presidency because I believed very strongly it is Buhari’s time.  As long as President Muhammadu Buhari remains in politics, I do not see any Nigerian from the Northern part of the country that will be able to match him in popularity.  The people of the 19 Northern states and most Nigerians have decided that because of the President’s past history of integrity and governance they are committed to him.  And then anyone standing up to challenge him is wasting his time.  God has decreed that this is Buhari’s time.

“And then we are waiting for the PDP to give Atiku Abubakar the ticket and we will face him in the field.  I have no doubt about that and I will never lose any sleep about it.”