Atiku belongs to APC, spokesman tells group calling for his return to PDP

Paul Ibe, media aide of former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, says his principal belongs to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ibe said this on Friday when he received Concerned Citizens For Atiku (CCA), a support group of the former vice-president.

On Thursday, the south-west chapter of the Nigeria Youth Coalition (NYC) had asked Atiku to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “as soon as possible”.

The group said if the former vice-president returned to the PDP before its convention, he stands a better chance of clinching the party’s presidential ticket.

But Atiku’s spokesman said everyone is free to express themselves as enshrined in the country’s constitution.

“Well, groups are free, like individuals to express their positions, it’s a country of law and there is freedom of expression as enshrined in our constitution,” Ibe said.

“Having said that, I probably would also remind that his excellency belongs to a political party as we speak.”

Earlier, Adebowale Jante, convener of CCA, called on the former vice-president to declare his intention to run for president.

“On behalf of the board of trustees of Concerned Citizens for Atiku we are calling on your excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON) to declare your intention to run for the president of the federal republic of Nigeria,” Jante said.

“For us in this group, having decided that you are the only man who can rescue this nation, our involvement has gone beyond appealing to your good self. We see this project as a mission of compulsion, a commitment to dragging you into the 2019 presidential race as an urgent and necessary step to save this country from an imminent catastrophe.

“We believe that our request may be weighty but you have been positioned to rescue Nigeria from the current state where citizens only wake up each morning to wail due to the economic situation being faced by every single family. With all due respect to you sir, this is your time to fix Nigeria so that posterity will remember you for good.”