President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has congratulated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for emerging as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the just-concluded national convention of the party held in Port Harcourt.

Saraki, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, also commended the delegates to the convention and members of the organising committee, led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, “for holding a convention in which a candidate was elected in a free, fair, transparent and rancour-free atmosphere.”

According to the Senate President, who was one of the presidential aspirants that contested against Abubakar, the PDP had shown a good example of democracy with the exercise.

He said in part, “Our just-concluded convention was a partisan event which the country can showcase as an example that democracy has a future in Nigeria and that when we are determined we can elect our leaders without any manipulation, intimidation, and violation of the law and democratic norms.

“More importantly, let me congratulate the winner and new flag bearer of our party, and all the fellow aspirants for running credible and mature campaigns and working all along to reassure millions of our fellow party members and other Nigerians that PDP will leave the convention venue more united and ready to work together to form the next government at the federal and other levels in a manner that we will unite the country, grow the economy, carry along all stakeholders, empower the youths and make government serve the people better.”

Saraki emphasised the points he earlier made at the close of the convention that all the other aspirants, especially himself, were ready to walk and work with Abubakar “to spread the positive message of the PDP and his campaigns across the nooks and crannies of the country such that the PDP will win the 2019 general elections.”

The Senate President added, “Those who expect that the party will degenerate into crisis after the primaries have miscalculated. We will all work for the Atiku-PDP ticket to succeed and contribute ideas into solving the problems confronting Nigeria today. The event in Port Harcourt between yesterday and today was a victory for Nigeria and for democracy. We will not lose the momentum but sustain it to rebuild Nigeria and elect Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the next President of Nigeria.”