Atiku seeks Obasanjo’s assistance in convincing a serving southeast governor to be his vice–insider
Atiku seeks Obasanjo’s assistance in convincing a serving southeast governor to be his vice–insider
Former Nigerian vice president and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar has allegedly sought the assistance of his erstwhile principal, former president Olusegun Obasanjo in persuading current governor of Anambra state on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo to consider being his running mate in 2027 presidential election.
Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo served as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and the Atiku’s camp believe that Obasanjo is the right person with the influence to persuade Soludo over the offer especially as the offer poses little or no political risk to the governor’s political future.
The source who spoke confidentially to the Reliant.ng under the condition of anonymity, claimed that Atiku Abubakar considers governor Soludo worthy of vice president and capable of giving his presidential candidacy traction in the southeast region of the country especially in view of Peter Obi’s 2027 presidential ambition.
Also, the Atiku’s camp believe that Soludo pairing Atiku Abubakar will provide the needed funds for Atiku to prosecute his presidential campaign.
I am aware that the former vice president has sought Obasanjo’s help in talking to governor Soludo whom he considers a good option for the vice president. You know, Soludo worked under Obasanjo as the CBN governor, so Atiku believes that Obasanjo is in the best position to speak to the governor.
Bringing Soludo to the ticket is not just a good political option but also good for the funding problems that could face the Atiku’s campaign team”.
He added that while Soludo accepting the offer will pose no political risk to the governor’s tenure or political career, he might be wary of walking with Atiku Abubakar because of his relationship with president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The fear is that the governor is a known ally of president Tinubu who may not want to associate with Atiku in respect to his relationship with Tinubu but this is politics and anything can happen”.
When asked whether governor Soludo has been spoken to about the offer, the source stated that such details are not made public, declaring that former president Olusegun Obasanjo had in 2018 recommended Soludo to Atiku as a running mate but that the former vice president ended up choosing Peter Obi.
Things like that are not said publicly but I am aware that the former president was contacted to speak to Soludo. You remember that in 2018, Soludo was one of the people Obasanjo recommended to Atiku but he ended up with Obi. Things like these are usually not brought to the public”.
