Former Aviation Minister counters Wike, says Atiku, PDP do not need to apologize over Kaduna comment

The contentious issue of the comment of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, at the Arewa joint Committee interactive Session in Kaduna, has been swaying discussions across the country. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State had said that the PDP should explain to Nigerians the comment of Atiku and ap0logise.

However, former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, countered the Rivers State governor, saying that the PDP and Atiku Abubakar do not need to apologise to anyone over the Kaduna comment.

Atiku was cited to have said at the Arewa meeting: “What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the North and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country.

“This is what the Northerner needs. It doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”

The former aviation minister noted that the discussion on the Atiku comment in Kaduna is “unfortunate”.

Chidoka had declared: “I think we need to move beyond these political gimmicks and political gimmickry that goes on when people say one thing, we turn it the other way round and we use it for political ends.

“The point he is making is a very clear point – that we need a Nigerian president, somebody that would unify the country, will understand the issues, and be able to solve them.

“So, I don’t think that it is a statement that warrants any apologies or discussions. It is for Vice President Atiku to continue to explain himself to the public. We still have four months in the campaign, so, he needs to go out and explain his agenda that he is a Nigerian president that is desirous of making sure that all parts of Nigeria feel wanted in Nigeria, and feel united.

“He needs to unify the country to be able to propose the difficult solutions that must be applied to make this economy and the country work again.”