Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, is set to officially declare his intention to vie for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s election following the procurement of the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms for him Thursday.
The Northeast Business Forum under the chairmanship of Abubakar Funakaye bought the forms, which they presented to the 2019 presidential candidate of the party at his Asokoro Abuja residence.
Funakaye said the purchase of the forms was in the fulfilment of the promise made by the Forum should Atiku agree to contest the election again.
“We promised that if he agrees to contest the election, we will purchase his nomination form. This is what we have done today,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the forms, the former vice president remarked that Nigeria is faced with challenges, the type it has never witnessed in its history as a nation.
He spoke of the collapse of many sectors of the nation’s unity, economy and security, noting that the solution is beyond an individual.
The former presidential candidate called for all hands to be on deck to pull the nation back from the brink, adding that it would not be easy but will require the unity of all.
He called for the jettisoning of utterances that sow a seed of discord among the various sections of the country as he noted that he does not believe in the existence of ethnic, religious or other differences to discriminate against citizens.
He said: “The challenges before us as Nigerians are enormous. We have never faced this kind of challenge in the history of this country. Our unity is threatened, our economy is in the worst state and our security is a disaster. They require all hands on deck.
“What is before us, is not an easy job. Therefore, I will like to call for the unity of this country.
“Whether I become president or not, differences on the basis of ethnicity or religion is not in my household.”
Atiku noted that even though the Northeast region where he is from is the most backward in the country, the situation does not give it a sense of entitlement for the presidency.
He added: “Northeast is the most backward in the country but that does not give us the entitlement to rule this country
It should motivate us.”
He thanked the Northeast Busines Forum for the fulfilment of their promise to him and as well for the sacrifice they have already made.
In his remark, the chairman emeritus of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, disclosed that Atiku’s formal declaration for the 2023 race will take place next week Wednesday.
Also speaking, a member of the Northeast Business Forum and former senator, Abdul Ningi, revealed that the regional business community had pledged between N1 million to N800 million to purchase nomination forms for the former vice president.
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