PDP will die in 2023 if it loses election – Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, has said that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might not survive another eight years as an opposition party if it loses the 2023 general election.

Atiku, who spoke when he hosted members of the board of trustees (BoT) of the party during a Consultative meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, begged elders of the party to work with him to clinch the presidency in 2023 or “we all retire together.”

He also noted that the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo where he served as the vice president still remains best since the return to democracy in 1999.

The presidential hopeful said, “Many of you were part of the success story of the PDP government between 1999 and 2007. Today, no administration since then, had made as much achievement as our administration.

“What I’m saying is based on facts, take any aspect of our growth whether it is economy, whether it is healthcare, whether it is agriculture, whether it is education, the landmark achievements we made in 1999 to 2007 have not been matched by any subsequent administration.

“I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years. By the next eight years, I don’t know how many of us will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments. So this is a very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival.”

Speaking on the issue of zoning, Atiku asked members of the PDP to jettison the idea and not to worried simply because the APC has done same.

“We invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning.

“Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy. The many years of PDP government eight years and six years all of them were from the south. So, we should not be stampeded by the opposition party. They have a moral obligation.”

The presidential hopeful said his vision was to build bridges across the country and called on the BoT members to join him in building bridges so that every part of this country will have a sense of belonging.