Atiku, however, owes the zone and former President Goodluck Jonathan an apology for leaving the PDP in the build up to the 2015 elections, which denied the region a second term at the Presidency.
Leaders of the Niger Delta Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDCPP) have congratulated former vice-president Atiku Abubakar on his emergence the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential primaries.
They also called on him to apologise to the South South for his role in events leading to the 2015 elections.
The group, in a statement on Sunday signed by Charles Kalada Dan-Jumbo, noted that the successful hosting of the PDP Convention in Rivers State was an indication that “the region is peaceful under the leadership of a PDP state government.
“Atiku, however, owes the zone and former President Goodluck Jonathan an apology for leaving the PDP in the build up to the 2015 elections, which denied the region a second term at the Presidency.
“Such apology is necessary, even though the zone has forgiven Atiku,” the statement said.
According to the group the exit of Atiku and other PDP leaders to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was partly responsible for the loss of the 2015 presidential election.
The statement further read; “Suffice it to say that the geo-political zone has always played a pivotal role in the shaping of the character and content of the nation.
“This can be displayed in the key roles great sons and daughters of the region have played in the history of the country.
“The just-concluded primaries adjudged the best so far, was midwifed by Niger Delta people and hosted in the zone.
“Painfully, we all pretend like yesterday never existed, especially those of us who were key actors in disposing of the previous government.
“Today, we must learn to apologise for our wrong deeds to rebuild trust, else everything we present now is on a fallacious foundation.
“Apart from Atiku, we also call on others, including the Senate President Bukola Saraki as well as Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Rabiu Kwankwaso, among others, to tender an apology to the region and former President Jonathan, for denying the region of a well deserved second tenure.
“Their action was due to impatience and misconstrued perceptions, especially since that same government took us from a weak economy to the number one economy in Africa.”
The group commended Gov. Nyesom Nwike of Rivers, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, who chaired the Convention Planning Committee, as well as Prince Uche Secondus, PDP National Chairman, for successfully hosting the convention.
