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Fielding questions from journalists in Lagos on the state of the nation, Aminu who expressed confidence in the ability of the Ekwueme committee to achieve reconciliation in the party, said unlike other states, the situation in Adamawa was peculiar.
Atiku, who hails from Adamawa, is believed to be top on the list of aggrieved former members of PDP the Ekwueme committee is reaching out to. He defected from the party just before the presidential election after a prolonged face-off with the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and later flew the presidential flag of the Action Congress (AC) in the April 2007 election.
Aminu, who had a running battle with Atiku, which culminated in an attempt to recall him from the last Senate, said Governor Murtala Nyako and leaders of PDP in the state are presently preoccupied with the task of re-building the party.
He said that PDP had gone beyond the 1999 era and could not be drawn back to that era again maintaining that "if Atiku comes to PDP, some people in Adamawa would raise their heads against him, including me sitting here. It is not everywhere you have the kind of situation we have in Adamawa".
The lawmaker also dispelled insinuations that Obasanjo's position as the party's Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman will work against the reconciliatory efforts of the Ekwueme committee as he argued that the President remained the leader of the party.
Aminu also spoke on the reversal of some of the policies of former president Obasanjo by President Umaru Yar'Adua, like the sale of Port Harcourt refinery and the re-opening of Ibeto Cement Company saying it should not be viewed as signifying a rift between the two leaders or an attempt by Yar'Adua to reverse Obasanjo's reform agenda.
While noting that changes may be effected on any policy as situation warrants at any given time, Aminu said he believes that there is no change that has been made without the understanding of Obasanjo.
Speaking further, he said he believes Obasanjo would have effected some of such changes if he had the time, but however added that it is also usually difficult for anybody that initiates a policy to change such policy. He said that some aspects of the reform agenda may actually need to be looked into because they were pursued with what he called "excessive enthusiasm".
While blaming the media for making a mountain out of a mole hill in respect of some of the actions of President Yar'Adua, Aminu said: "There is some kind of bloody minded mentality that unless Obasanjo and Umaru quarrel, something is wrong. We want to make them quarrel so that we will have something to report. No, they are not going to quarrel.
There is no way they can be identical because they are not identical twins. There are some things Obasanjo did that Umaru may do. There goals are the same but their methods may vary. Their goals, I believe are the same. "
Commenting on the trial of some former governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Aminu described it as a welcome development and waved aside the fears nursed in some quarters that former governors may team up against President Yar'Adua for allowing the EFCC to prosecute them.
He said if the former governors could not have their way in the Senate, then it was an indication of where power actually resided. Noting that once one is out of power there is a limit to the number of strings such person can pull. Aminu said even today, the former governors are not as powerful as the incumbent governors.
He also faulted the view that the anti-corruption crusade is selective since the anti-graft agency had not arraigned other corrupt governors. According to him, EFCC does not have the capacity to prosecute all corrupt governors at the same time but can only make examples of a few of them to send a strong signal across that corruption will no longer be treated with kid gloves.
He also spoke on the ministerial screening by the Senate. While commending the Senate for doing a good job, he however said if he had his way, the Lagos nominee, Mr. Bode Agusto, who was dropped should have been allowed to scale through, but quickly added that in a democracy, the majority prevail.
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