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The Chief of the People’s Democratic Party, Otunba Segun Sowunmi, defended former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s right to re-take the presidency, dismissing public criticism in many of his competition.
Atiku, who made six attempts in the presidency and lost to candidates for all the progressive congresses in 2019 and 2023, remains a topic of political discussion.
Sowunmi pointed out in an interview that the repeated debates about Atticu’s ambitions were misplaced, believing that the Constitution guarantees every qualified citizen the right to fight for any political post. He expressed concern that efforts to dissuade Atiku were more than they would have been spent on the strategy of losing the ruling party.
He said the political competition has a profound personal and constitutional emphasis on the efforts to put pressure on Atiku to step on abandonment are both inaction and ineffective. “I find it a bit curious that they are not talking about how they win, or even how they will win the election, but spending too much time trying to bully a man who can’t be bullied, I know anyone well, and if someone tries to bully him, you can basically just make him more determined in his position,” he said.
Sowunmi further pointed out that parties can freely place their presidential votes in distinction based on the party and state constitution, but reiterated that there is no law to prevent Atiku from competing. He believes that election participation is a legal right that cannot be obtained based on past attempts or failures.
From his first attempt under the Social Democratic Party in 1992 to his latest competition in PDP, he listed various bids in Attiku’s past, from his first attempt in 1992 to his latest efforts, insisting that these efforts reflect legitimate democratic participation. He urged Nigerians to focus on winning elections rather than limiting who can compete for them.
