Daily Independent (Lagos)
Austin Iyashere and Njoku Paschal in Yola
11 April 2009
Abuja — Atiku Abubakar has opted for private security agents, hours after police recalled his details in what political analysts called the domino effect of the attack the former vice president launched on Aso Rock and the hawks in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
That decision emerged as police announced it has restored the officers withdrawn from Atiku, and reiterated that the withdrawal followed a resolve of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and that it has no axe to grind with the Adamawa-born politician.
Atiku's spokesman, Garba Shehu, confirmed the restoration of the police guards in a telephone interview with Saturday Independent. He said the police sent back the night guard on Thursday night and asked the convoy to return by Friday morning.
He reiterated that the police had withdrawn every officer around the former vice president on Thursday.
Shehu said that Atiku at the end of his tenure as vice president had applied to and received approval from the President for the number of security men he needed and that he had never been informed of details of any new security arrangements around him.
Nigeria Police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, however, accused the Atiku group of being "economical with the truth."
"The Nigeria Police has no problem with anybody. This is a programme from the executive council and we are simply implementing it," he said.
Ojukwu could not, however, immediately point at any other person whose security details had been reduced or added to apart from Atiku since the exercise began, pleading that he could only provide such information after the Easter break.
Ojukwu also declined to provide details of Atiku's security entitlement.
"That is not wise. We cannot say the number of policemen or any detail of the security arrangement around him, for his own sake," he said.
Atiku's spokesman had raised an alarm on Thursday that all security details around his boss had been withdrawn - an action he blamed on the government.
Aso Rock has denied involvement in the whole saga, with President Umaru Yar'Adua asking Atiku to leave him out of his "propaganda."
Atiku no longer relies on police security and that informs his opting for private guards, according to a text message from Shehu.
It reads: "We have been approached for an update concerning the Presidency's withdrawal of Atiku's security. I wish to state that two police guards were posted to his house last night by the Command in Adamawa. Atiku himself has from Thursday hired private guards that he has deployed around himself and his houses. He says he will maintain the private security for himself since the police had become unreliable and, going by this experience, they can be withdrawn at any time without notice."
Meanwhile, the much-touted planned return of Atiku to the ruling PDP is finally a mission impossible if current political development is anything to go by.
Adamawa State PDP Chairman, Mijinyawa Kugama has declared that the possibility of the Action Congress (AC) presidential standard bearer joining the party he co-founded is a "closed chapter and an exercise in futility if at all any such move was made."
Kugama told Saturday Independent in a chat that, "Atiku is finished politically, and he has nailed his political coffin. He is not coming back to the PDP and we will never allow him."
Saturday Independent gathered that the recent condemnation of President Umaru Yar'Adua's administration and the PDP by Atiku might be responsible for the Adamawa PDP's hard stance on their kinsman.
"Atiku's statement on the leader of our great party in the person of President Umaru Yar'Adua and the party itself was very rude, uncomplimentary and baseless," Kugama declared.
Continuing: "How can Atiku, who has been begging top members of the party to enable him, return to the PDP now resort to castigating those that will determine his case," the Adamawa PDP chairman said.
According to Kugama, "Atiku's misguided utterances against the President and our party has vindicated former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his remarks on the Turaki Adamawa when he came to Yola recently.
Kugama stated that it is the PDP that made Atiku what he is today and wonders why the man has decided to unleash attack on the party after enjoying eight years tenure as vice president.
"Obasanjo is the chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, and he has categorically stated that he (Atiku) is not a politician to be trusted," Kugama said.
On his advice to the former vice president, the Adamawa State PDP chairman said, "Atiku should forget about coming back to the PDP because he is not needed at all" advising that he should stop parading himself as political bride to be sought after.
Atiku's political integrity and reputation was further punctured recently by Obasanjo when he came to Yola, on the invitation of Governor Murtala Nyako to commission the multibillion naira ultra modern Jimeta Market.
After the commissioning, Obasanjo had told Adamawa people and Nigerians during a stakeholders' meeting that Atiku had been begging him to broker peace between him and his perceived traducers in the party, mainly those from Adamawa, his home state.
The comments of Obasanjo, who few months back told Nigerians that he and Atiku have reconciled their differences, came as a surprise to political pundits, because his utterances on Atiku suggested otherwise.
A founding member of the Adamawa State AC told Saturday Independent that he has been suspicious of that reconciliation between Obasanjo and Atiku.
According to him: "How can you say you have settled your differences with your adversary for you to come back and make jest of him. Personally, that peace meeting at Ota between the former leaders of this country has more to it than real reconciliation."
Another source said, "Atiku should have known that Obasanjo does not forgive easily and should not have gone to him for any reconciliation."
However, Atiku has maintained that he has no regret for condemning the present administration and the party for messing up the electoral reform report.
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