The presidential aspirant was pictured wiping his eyes with
a white handkerchief to fight back tears.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, fought back tears
shortly after obtaining the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to
contest in the presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP).
According to a report by Vanguard, the Atiku Support Groups
(ASG) bought the forms, a total of N12 million, and presented them to him at
his Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja on Friday, August 31, 2018.
The former vice president was overwhelmed with emotion when
a member of the ASG, Adekemi Adesanya, was describing the terrible state of
affairs in the country. The presidential aspirant was pictured wiping his eyes
with a white handkerchief to fight back tears.
When it was his turn to speak, Atiku said the fact that he
is trusted to provide solutions to Nigeria's numerous challenges encourages him
to work for a better nation.
He said, "The event today is significant and historic
because this is the only time in my political career that young men and women
in this country have come together without my knowledge or even consent to
contribute their own hard-earned money to buy me an Expression of Interest and
Nomination Forms.
"You could have seen that one of the ladies who spoke
virtually succeeded in getting me to weep. This is because she aptly described
the challenges every Nigerian is facing in this country today and she believed
honestly and sincerely from the bottom of her heart that I could be an instrument
of addressing those challenges.
"So, for such a woman to believe that I have got those
leadership qualities and including those of you who have brought out your
monies to buy this form, is one of the most serious challenges I have ever
faced in my political career.
"And believe me, addressing those challenges is
possible because we have brought young men and women, Nigerians who have got
the talents, who have got the education, who have got the experience, who have
got all what it take to honestly turn this country around."
Atiku is one in a long list of aspirants contesting for the
PDP presidential ticket ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
He faces competition in Senate President, Bukola Saraki,
Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo,
and former governors, Sule Lamido, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jonah Jang, Ahmed
Makarfi, as well as Rabiu Kwankwaso.
