Posted by By PHILIP NWOSU on
The Action Congress (AC) has fired back at Senator Joseph Waku over his recent outburst against former vice president and AC presidential candidate in the April 2007 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, calling the senator a hired gun being used by Atiku's political opponents.
•Says he's hired gun
The Action Congress (AC) has fired back at Senator Joseph Waku over his recent outburst against former vice president and AC presidential candidate in the April 2007 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, calling the senator a hired gun being used by Atiku's political opponents.
Senator Waku had, in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, said the dismal performance of the Action Congress in the re-run governorship elections in Adamawa, the home state of the former vice president, was an indication of an end to the political mastery of the former number two citizen.
To Waku, Atiku's commendation of the preparation and conduct of the election was a confirmation that the election was free and fair.
However, the Chairman of the Action Congress in Benue State, Waku's home state, Hon. Tivlumum Innocent Ahure, lashed out at the senator, saying he was hired by Atiku's political opponents to embark on a mudslinging, even when there was no cause for it.
Ahure said it was unfortunate and sad that the former Benue senator would seek to use the outcome of the Adamawa re-run elections, 'which was fraudulent, to gauge Atiku's standing in the polity."
He said that the election, as conducted in Adamawa on April 26, was a public auction and that the governorship seat was awarded to the highest bidder.
The Benue AC chieftain accused both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies of being culprits in the bid for the governorship seat, explaining that they compromised in the election.
Ahure, in a statement said: 'It is unfortunate that our own son, Senator Waku, has again made himself available to political opponents of Atiku. We are told wisdom comes with old age, but we are concerned that Senator Waku seems to be getting more childish with age. Atiku was not a candidate in the Adamawa State election. Its controversial verdict was, therefore, not a verdict on Atiku."
He said that the people of Adamawa State voted massively for AC on April 26, when the state had the re-run of its governorship elections, 'but the PDP, in collusion with INEC and security forces, stole the mandate."
Hon. Ahure described Atiku as the most important politician alive today in Nigeria, adding that the former vice president would continue to shape the politics of Nigeria for a long time to come.