In the sequence of events running from Jonathan’s book launch to Atiku’s turbaning as Wazirin Adamawa, the two former presidents now seem united in support of a common candidate.

Billy Graham Abel, Yola

Adamawa State was a beehive of political presence at the weekend when two former presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, among other Nigerian politicians, converged in Yola for the turbaning ceremony of former vice president and current PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, as the Waziri Adamawa.

READ ALSO: Atiku turbaned as 7th Waziri of Adamawa Emirate

The event was as colourful and grand as it was political, with mostly PDP politicians, including serving and former governors, serving and former legislators, in attendance from across the country in an obvious endorsement and support of the presidential hopeful.

During the occasion, former president Olusegun Obasanjo was full of praise for the his former vice president, describing him as a man who has displayed a capacity for leadership and would use his office as the Waziri Adamawa to further the cause of humanity.

“During his time as my vice president, he was always diligent in his job and am very confident that he has the capacity to use this office to further human cause,” Obasanjo said.

The gathering was a significant political advance of PDP leadership towards the 2019 battle for the presidency, underscoring, as a political statement, the party’s resolve to take back power.

The meeting, featuring PDP power brokers, as a display of the opposition’s unity, sends a signal to the to the feuding APC ruling party.

Significantly, Atiku’s co-contenders at the party’s presidential primary (with the exception of David Mark) were present at the occasion, including Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

The PDP, running into the 2015 presidential election, was riddled with conflict of interests, which saw both Obasanjo and Atiku pitted against Goodluck Jonathan. But now in the sequence of events running from Goodluck Jonathan’s book launch to Atiku’s turbaning as Wazirin Adamawa, the two former presidents now seem united in support of a common candidate.