I Contested Governorship Election 4 Times – Atiku

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that he contested for the governorship position four different times before he finally won in 1999.

The former Vice President made this revelation on Tuesday while having an interaction with leaders of over 200 support groups across the country in Abuja.

Addressing the leaders of the groups, Atiku said that he was delighted that more young people were participating in politics today, adding that his dream is to mentor the young generation and handover his political structure to them.

He urged youths to be consistent and be courageous in pursuing their aspirations.

“It is encouraging that these days I see many young people come to me declaring intentions to run for various political positions, some state assemblies, some national assembly and even some aspiring to be governors.

“I started in my late 30s. During our time, our direction was to fight the military and return the country to civil rule.

“In joining politics, you have to be focused, principled and courageous. For example, I contested for the governorship position four times before I was finally elected. That is politics for you. You have to be determined and be courageous,” he said.

“We are more organised now; it is a reflection of the fact that we are now more experienced and with experience comes more knowledge.

“What that means is that if there was any mistake that we made last time, we are in a better position to avoid such mistakes now”.

He encouraged them to engage in all necessary lobby to ensure that the aspiration of the Atiku comes becomes a reality.