Atiku cannot be godfather to APC – Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on Monday said that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, could not be a godfather to the All Progressives Congress.
Oshiomhole made this known when he spoke with newsmen after paying a solidarity visit to APC secretariat in Asaba, Delta State.
He said that it was not possible for Abubakar to become a godfather to a party he did not form, adding: “Atiku came to join what already existed, so he cannot be a father to APC.
“But what you should talk about Atiku joining APC is the fact that such an eminent Nigerian, one time vice president of a ruling party, can find comfort in leaving the party to join the alternative platform.
“I think that is the big story.
“You should find out how those he left behind feel and what that amounts to.”
The governor also said that the worries were that of the political party he left to join the APC.
On the election time table, Oshiomhole said that the Independent National Electoral Commission had some explanation to make on why it decided to climb “a tree from the top rather than from the bottom”.
He noted that several elections had been conducted in the country and the presidential election had never come first until now.
Oshiomhole said that if INEC failed in the presidential election, all other elections would equally fail.
He said that it would have been proper for INEC to do some test running with smaller units first and learn lessons and improve on the method before the presidential poll, which he called the big one.
Oshiomhole said that he was in Delta State to meet with the interim leadership of the party to discuss issues affecting the party, its formation and the forthcoming registration exercise and encourage them.
He said that what distinguished APC from other political parties was that it was founded on the principle of popular participation that was all-inclusive rather than politics of exclusion.
He said that the party might be new, but the leaders were not new to partisan politics.
The governor said that APC leaders were working hard to entrench it not only in the hearts of party members but actually in the heart of all the people of Delta State.