Dino Melaye, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and former senator, said that the Labour Party’s presidential standard bearer, Peter Obi, was not known nationally until his PDP counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, discovered him.
Melaye stated that any reformer in the country who emerged within 1999 till date was discovered by Atiku.
The senator was speaking at an event organised by a women’s political group, Diamond Ladies in Politics, in Abuja, over the weekend.
Melaye said, “Obi is a fantastic Nigerian, but he was not known nationally until Atiku identified him. Atiku is a talent hunter. Everyone who was a reformer in this country from 1999 till date was a discovery of Atiku.
“Atiku discovered Obi before keyboard warriors discovered Obi. Unfortunately, elections are not going to take place on social media. It is going to take place at the polling units. And those that would vote are the people here. So it is now operation votes must count.”
The former senator, who was an award recipient at the event, also stated that the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, and others do not possess the requisite foundation to compare themselves with Atiku.
“Unfortunately, both of them are very wealthy, but there is a difference. Atiku is a billionaire with enterprise, while Tinubu is a billionaire without enterprise. He has a history of a physical business in agriculture, education, oil and gas, media, manufacturing, and banking,” Melaye said.
The PDP presidential candidate, who spoke through his daughter, Hajia Maryam Atiku, at the event, canvassed the support of the large population of youths and women in the country, pledging that her father would reorganise the country if given the mandate come 2023 election.
In her remarks, the convener of the Diamond Ladies in politics, Princess Maimunat Wada, vowed to garner at least two million votes for the presidential candidate.
Evaluating the alarming situation in the country at the height of lack of self-confidence and the grave hardship faced by Nigerians, she argued that the PDP candidate could contain the biting challenges if given the mandate in 2023.
“With Atiku Abubakar on the saddle of leadership of the country, there would be inclusiveness of Nigerians irrespective of their tribal and religious affiliations,” she noted.