By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Governor Umar Jubrilla Bindow of Adamawa state has denied making any reference to “unconfirmed” presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The governor’s position came against the backdrop of a media report quoting him to have said “it’s either Atiku or nobody for the 2019 Presidency.”
A statement by his Special Assistant, Media and Press Affairs, Martins Dickson, yesterday urged those who must have been offended by such misrepresentation “aimed at tarnishing his image” to shun the report as it did not emanate from him.
“The attention of Adamawa state Governor, Senator Muhammad Umar Jubrilla Bindow, has been drawn to a story on Peoples Daily newspaper of Friday, November 11, 2016, titled: “2019 Presidency: It’s Either Atiku Or Nobody, Says Gov Bindow.”
The governor said “at no time during the flag-off ceremony of the Girei-Pariya-Wuro Bokki last Thursday did he make any statement about 2019 Presidency.
The statement read in part: “The governor only stated that Atiku is like a father to him and he has no political godfather as insinuated by some sections of the media.
“He then thanked President Buhari for bringing peace to the Northeast and Nigeria as a whole, and called on the people of Adamawa to unite and make the state a better place.”
“The attribution of such statement to him by the newspaper is false, mischievous, fictitious and malicious. It’s is a surprise that such concocted story is published by a reputable newspaper like Peoples Daily.”
Continuing, it read: “To attribute a statement to a person means a direct utterance of the person or an issued statement by the personality. This, I am sure, the Peoples Daily reporter and his editors know very well.
“Bindow has no glance on 2019, he is more concerned with the continuous development of Adamawa state and delivering good dividends of democracy to people of the state.”
