US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1635

S E C R E T ABUJA 001635 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, KDEM, NI, ELECTIONS 
SUBJECT: ATIKU DISCUSSES 2007 ELECTIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). 
 
1.  (S) SUMMARY:  In a two-hour meeting, a relaxed Vice 
President Atiku Abubakar expressed little concern about the 
search of his Potomac, Maryland residence  and offered his 
insights on President Obasanjo and PDP party politics.  He 
also expressed concerns about new INEC chairman Maurice Iwu 
and the potential for INEC to botch yet another election. 
The Vice President seemed  genuinely disturbed by the 
potential for Obasanjo to manipulate the political system to 
detriment of the VP's potential presidential bid in 2007. End 
summary. 
 
2.  (S) Ambassador and Polcouns met with Vice President Atiku 
Abubakar on the evening of 30 August.  Atiku was relaxed and 
seemed to enjoy the almost two-hour discussion.  He said that 
he had fully discussed the DOJ investigation that prompted 
the search of the Potomac, Maryland residence of his wife 
Jennifer with the President "several times," and indicated 
that the two maintained a healthy working relationship. 
 
3.  (S)  Atiku then turned to domestic politics, commenting 
that President Obasanjo had crossed several boundaries in his 
handling of internal PDP issues.  The Vice President pointed 
to a speech he had delivered about two weeks ago where he 
challenged all the political parties to "abide by their own 
constitutions" to better abide by Nigeria's Constitution.  He 
said that Obasanjo's manipulation of the party officials 
continues, but that the deadline for electing new officials 
is fast approaching.  "The ward delegates' terms will expire 
by the end of September," with the other levels to follow 
soon after.  He expressed concern with Obasanjo's intentions. 
 According to Atiku, while it is unclear if Obasanjo plans to 
succeed himself, he certainly does not want to release "the 
reins of power" in the party. 
 
4.  (S)  The Vice President also expressed concerns about new 
INEC chairman Maurice Iwu.  According to Atiku, Iwu is close 
with presidential adviser Andy Uba and his brothers, Anambra 
State strongman Chris and Senator Ugochukwu.  He asserted 
that Iwu and other INEC commissioners maintained close ties 
to the President and had little room for independent action. 
He was also concerned about the lackadaisical approach to 
elections planning and the potential for INEC to botch yet 
another election.  According to Atiku, serious efforts had 
yet to begin to deal with the logistical problem of 
distributing and collecting ballots throughout the country 
and to deal with the flawed 2002 voters list. 
 
5.  (S)  COMMENT:  The Vice President seemed unconcerned 
about the legal issues arising from the search of his 
Maryland residence.  He did seem genuinely disturbed by the 
potential for Obasanjo to manipulate the political system to 
detriment of his own potential presidential bid in 2007. 
Atiku was more openly critical of President Obasanjo than two 
months ago, but he never complained about affairs of state, 
only political maneuverings. 
CAMPBELL