Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Monday said he regretted not doing much to help the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) win in Lagos state when he had the opportunity in 2003.<\/p>\n
Abubakar, a PDP presidential aspirant, spoke in Lagos while holding a meeting with members of the party in the state as part of his nationwide tour of state chapters, to seek support for his aspiration ahead of 2019 general election.<\/p>\n
He said before the 2003 elections, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo gave him the task to deliver the six south-west states then governed by the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP.<\/p>\n
Abubakar said in carrying out the task, he delivered all the states to PDP, except Lagos.<\/p>\n
The former vice-president said he deliberately did not do much to win Lagos because of his relationship with Bola Tinubu who was governor of the state at the time.<\/p>\n
He apologised to party members for what he called his mistake, saying Lagos would have been better off, if he had delivered it to the PDP then.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abubakar said his decision to seek the number one seat in the country was to reposition and put it on the path of progress.<\/p>\n
He said the country was having serious issues in the areas of economy and security, promising to fix the problems if elected.<\/p>\n
Abubakar said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had failed to deliver the promised change.<\/p>\n
He said he was committed to the idea of restructuring, and believed it was key to the country\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n
The former vice-president said he would restructure the country within six months in office, if given the mandate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I am elected, I will make the centre unattractive and ensure that power devolves to the states\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
He called on party members across the country to support his bid as he meant well for the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Monday said he regretted not doing much to help the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) win in Lagos state when he had the opportunity in 2003. Abubakar, a PDP presidential aspirant, spoke in Lagos while holding a meeting with members of the party in the state as part of his nationwide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":85726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2,4],"tags":[7590,236,1722,800,51],"yoast_head":"\n