Former Deputy Director of the Buhari Presidential Campaign
Council, Mohammed Lawal, has claimed that former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, has been plotting President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure because he
lost the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election to him in 2014.
Lawal, who is a Director on the Board of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, made the allegation while dismissing
Abubakar’s claim that Buhari used and dumped him after the 2015 presidential
election.
Abubakar had alleged that the
Buhari-led Government had sidelined him after using his resources and
contacts to win the 2015 election.
In his reaction, Lawal stressed that the former Vice
President neither campaigned nor contributed “anything” towards Buhari’s
election in 2015.
Speaking yesterday, Lawal maintained that Buhari has been
fair to Abubakar, adding that a lot of the former Vice president’s loyalists
were holding positions in the current government.
He said, “We know that right from the time Buhari was sworn
in, Atiku started plotting to cause problem, to ensure that this administration
does not succeed.
“During the campaign, he granted an interview to BBC and
said he was sure APC would not win the presidential election.
“He was making preparations that if APC did not win, he will
go back to PDP and get the ticket after ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s
projected exit in 2019.
“Immediately after the presidential primaries, Atiku left
the country. He did not come back. All along, while we were prosecuting the
presidential campaign, Atiku was not in Nigeria. He did not participate in the
presidential campaign.
“After the presidential election, he came to congratulate
President Muhammadu Buhari and left the country. He is complaining now that he
was not contacted.
“I served as a Deputy Director at the Presidential Campaign
Council.
“ I knew all the intrigues. Atiku fought Buhari tooth and
nail. He was extremely unhappy about the loss of presidential primaries.
“He did not campaign for Buhari during the election. He even
refused to contribute any money. He promised to campaign and to contribute to
the campaign. He did not contribute anything meaningful.
“ Let him say how much he spent. How much did he claim he
spent? Is his money more important than his appearance at the campaign? He
spent all the money he thinks he has to ensure that Buhari did not win.
“People are not foolish. He told the BBC in 2015 that he was
sure that Buhari was not going to win. So, will somebody who did not believe in
the party’s candidate spend anything?
“And out of magnanimity, Buhari’s first outing from Abuja,
after winning the election, was to attend Atiku’s daughter’s wedding.
“There are many Atiku loyalists in this government and he is
saying that he has been sidelined. She (Women Affairs Minister Aisha Alhassan)
and other Atiku loyalists were given appointment because of Atiku. They know
themselves. And Atiku is saying nothing has been given to him. At least the
principal appointment given to Atiku went to Aisha as the Minister of Women
Affairs.
“To be candid with you, Atiku started fighting Buhari since
2015. They just came out now because they were choked up; they did not get any
reaction from him. They thought he was going to start fighting, abusing and
dealing mercilessly with the opposition in government.”
By Seun Opejobi
