2019: I’m the most qualified candidate for presidency ― Atiku

AHEAD of the Presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku, has said that he was the most qualified candidate for the nation’s presidency capable of rescuing her for the current multifaceted challenges come 2019.

The former Vice President stated this in Abuja at a Presidential media chat ahead of the Party’s Primaries slated for Port- Harcourt, Rivers State this weekend.

Atiku, however, lamented that he had been a victim of conspiracy of political elites in the country over the years which had him to be unable to realise his ambition of becoming the nation’s President in the previous attempts.

According to him, “If you are not going to be used, if you are not going to satisfy their personal aspiration…. Part of the problem they (elite) have with me, is that they say I am independent, principled and so on. Unfortunately, the Nigeria public is not politically sophisticated to override the conspiracy of these political elites  They rely on the political elite to direct them,”.

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While speaking in his changing of Political Parties over the years, Atiku said, “tell me one political leader who has been consistent on a political platform. All of them, none of them that have not changed party. But changing party is not the issue, have you been consistent in what you believe in, in your policies? I think that is the most important thing. Changing party is part of our political development process,”.

Rolling out his plans to make Nigeria regain her lost glory, Atiku promised to initiate economic reforms that would open up the country to foreign investors, if elected president next year, and lamented that most of the gains recorded when he was head of the nation’s economic team under former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, have been eroded by successive administrations.

The presidential aspirant, who blamed policy somersault for the country’s economic woes, said he would use his experience in the private sector to fix the economy if he becomes president.

He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari administration had failed to deliver in its three cardinal campaign promises of fighting corruption, security and fixing the economy.

According to him, “When we came in in 1999, a barrel of crude oil was less than $10 in the market. We met less than $5 billion in our foreign reserve. With all that, we were still able to manage the economy of the country to the extent that we paid all our foreign debt and became debt free.

“We were able to turn around the economy then, so I don’t think it is an impossible task to do now. If we are given the opportunity, I believe it is doable.

“I believe I have the experience and the capacity to deal with these issues more than any one of them because I have dealt with them before. I assembled the best economic team with that, we went well and everybody attested to what we have done in those eight years

“We liberalised the economy, we expanded the private sector’s participation and try to limit government to the necessary issues. If these policies we started were continued, today we will have been in a better country

“So I believe we need somebody who can come and continue with these policies so that we can bring back our prosperity, create more jobs for our unemployed youths. The most important thing is who can put this country back on the path of growth? I believe and I am so sure that am that person,” Atiku boasted.