Atiku
Former vice president and the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP for the 2023 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said it is time to rebuild Nigeria from the ruins the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has subjected the county to since coming to power over seven years ago.
Atiku stated this at the inauguration of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council and the launching of his three books namely; “The Story of Atiku Abubakar”, “Landmarks Constitutional Law Cases in Nigeria” and “Restructuring As A Pathway to Unity and Development” which was held at the International Conference Center (ICC) Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the presidential candidate, the PDP will build a strong and effective democratic government where the safety and security of lives and property of every Nigerian are guaranteed. He added that PDP will promote Nigeria’s unity through equity, social justice, and mutual collaboration among Nigerians irrespective of their background and status.
Atiku said the PDP government under him will establish a strong, resilient, inclusive and prosperous economy that will generate opportunity, jobs and wealth and lift the poor out of poverty.
“It is my distinct honour and pleasure to welcome you all to today’s inauguration (PCC). We are all gathered here today for the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council set up by our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, to diligently prosecute, and win, the general elections slated for February and March 2023. Even though this body is nominally styled “Presidential Campaign Council”, in reality, it is a General Elections Council. Because, of what use or benefit is a victory of the presidential candidate alone, without a sweeping victory of all our other candidates at all of the elections taking place next year?
“Majority of the people gathered here today are, like me, seasoned politicians with nothing but pure politics flowing through our veins. What is the number one job of a politician like you and I? It is to navigate the murky waters of politics and to campaign for and win elections. So, the inauguration of a Presidential Campaign Council, as the one we are all gathered here to witness today, should be a normal occurrence in the normal life of normal politicians.
“But today is not an ordinary day and the inauguration today of our Presidential Campaign Council is not an everyday event! Far from it.
In May 2015, Our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in an orderly, peaceful and rancour-free manner, handed over the reins of government at the centre to the opposition party, the APC, having lost the presidential elections a few months earlier. Four years later, in 2019, and in spite of the drift, economic desolation, challenges of insecurity and massive dislocations to the lives of our citizens witnessed under the APC government in those years, and notwithstanding that our great party had put before the Nigerian people, a demonstrably better plan for recovery and development of our nation, our party was, once again, schemed out in the elections held that year in the most devious manner.
“It is a testament to the patriotism, dedication to constitutionalism and law and order, and the unshakable belief in the rule of law and the supremacy of the courts in our land, that our great party, the PDP, chose and pursued redress in the one and only way laid down by law – through the courts. Of course, you all know how that ended so, there is no need to bore you with details.
“Since the loss at the polls of 2019 till now, and under the watch of the current APC government, our dear country has witnessed a frightening descent into anarchy. Our nation is currently in the throes of a multidimensional crisis encompassing insecurity, economic meltdown, disunity and mutual mistrust, to mention a few.
“To start with, the current government has failed at the very essence of what makes a government: the security of lives and property of its citizens. Our security challenges are legion, and I do not need to bore you by rehashing them here.”
“Our economy is in shambles, growth has stagnated, and our people are facing massive existential challenges daily. Hunger is the norm today in our country.
“Our nation is in disarray. The fabric of unity that binds our country is being torn apart by mutual distrust and ethnic and sectarian strife. We are now more disunited than we have ever been in our history, including even when we fought a civil war.
“Our educational system is comatose. Nothing more underscores this than the embarrassing twin facts of the number of children that are currently out of school, and the length of time that University students have been kept out of their classrooms this year, as a result of the ASUU strike.
Our system of government is broken. Our current system is unfair, unwieldy, skewed towards favouring the federal government at the expense of the other federating units, and has in itself, become a willing tool for underdevelopment. This kind of system of government is no longer suited to the challenges of a twenty-first-century economy that works for everyone and that is needed to bring development closer to our people.
“But all hope is not lost. We have a plan to address these issues and arrest the drift of our nation. These plans have been laid out in the document titled “My Covenant With Nigerians”.
Our plans for Nigeria and Nigerians are as follows:
“To restore Nigeria’s unity through equity, social justice, mutual collaboration, and consensus among our diverse peoples; to build a strong and effective democratic government where the safety and security of our people and their property is our primary and singularly most important responsibility.
To establish a strong, resilient, inclusive and prosperous economy that generates opportunity, jobs and wealth while lifting the poor out of poverty; to encourage the adoption of a true federal system that provides where all the federating units are equal and has a fair and representative federal government that secures our borders, defends our people and ensures national unity, whilst allowing the federating units to develop and grow in line priorities which they have set on their own;
To redevelop, invest in, and strengthen our education system in order to provide its recipients with the education and skills needed to compete in the new global order driven by innovation, science, and technology, as well as to live healthy, productive, and meaningful lives.
“To undertake these tasks, the members of our party, the PDP, have, graciously, granted me the ticket to lead the party in next year’s presidential elections, with the singular mandate to come and lead the efforts to cure these ills.
“But, to rescue and rebuild our country, we must first take over the mantle of leadership from the party that driven us into this mess. To do this, we must all be united in purpose and come together to fight and win all the elections slated for next year.”
“I wish to congratulate all the men and women nominated to serve in the Presidential Campaign Council. You have been selected from among the millions of our party members to join this esteemed council because of your past contributions to the party.
Meanwhile, a former Nigerian President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and four PDP governors were conspicuously absent at the three-in-one book launch. Jonathan was billed to be the distinguished guest of honour at the event.
The absentee governors are Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Samuel Ortom of Benue. The four governors are protesting the emergence of Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
Tribune Online recalls that there has been no love lost between Atiku and Wike’s camp since the conduct of the primaries which were held at the Velodrome of the MKO Abiola National Stadium Abuja on the 28th and 29th May 2022.
While the majority of members of the NWC advised Atiku to pick Wike as the party’s vice presidential candidate, the Waziri Adamawa settled for Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate and since then the party has been polarised along North and South lines.
However, all efforts to resolve the crisis have proved abortive even though both camps moved for reconciliation through meetings within and outside Nigeria.
While the Wike’s camp for the resignation of the national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu for peace to reign, the Atiku’s camp said it is too late to take such a risk as it may jeopardize the chances of the party at next year’s presidential elections with the PDP NEC passing a vote of confidence on Ayu and went ahead to inaugurate the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) which Wike’s camp saw as a slight on it and pulled out.
There are plans to destabilise PDP, Atiku Presidential Campaign Council – PDP NEC member, Madu
In a related development, a PDP NEC member and a national officer from Imo State, Chief Chinemerem Madu has said there was an alleged attempt to destabilise the PDP and Atiku Campaign Council by one of the party’s vice national chairmen from the Southern part of the country.
According to Madu, the ‘compromised National Vice Chairman and a couple of members of the National Executive Committee (NEC)are planning to derail the PDP Presidential Campaign and with the aim to scuttle the deserving victory of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the 2023 general elections.
Madu who said he was approached by the said national vice chairman to be part of the plan but declined said the national vice chairman confessed to having been heavily bankrolled and is coming and those behind the plan are already offering members of NEC sums ranging from N25 million to N28 million each to address a damaging press conference.
“Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are alerted of furtive moves by a compromised National Vice Chairman and a couple of members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to derail our Presidential Campaign and scuttle the deserving victory of our Presidential Candidate, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar at the 2023 general elections.
“This National Vice Chairman and his cohorts who confessed to having been heavily bankrolled are approaching and offering members of NEC sums ranging from N25 million to N28 million each to address a damaging press conference with fabrications aimed at derailing the Presidential Campaign.
“The said National Vice Chairman had approached me personally as a member of NEC to inform me of plots to orchestrate a heavily funded Press Conference to be addressed by select NEC members seemingly calling for the resignation of the National Chairman, Sen. Dr Iyorchia Ayu, but actually targeted at frustrating the Atiku Abubakar Presidential bid.
“He pointedly confessed to me that the demands and agitation of his group have not been against the Party Chairman, as the public has been made to believe, but against Atiku Abubakar.
“He also vowed that nothing will assuage the group which is now bent on derailing the PDP Presidential Campaign.
“Central to this plot is the timing of the damaging press conference, which has been scheduled to hold soon after the inauguration of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council and the official commencement of campaigns with a view to unsettle the PDP Presidential Campaign and scuttle Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential bid.
“Part of the scheme is to use the press conference to throw up a heavily concocted script which will contain unprintable damaging claims, assertions and allusions that will trigger confusion within the Party and sidetrack the Presidential Campaign
“The said National Vice Chairman informed me of how huge sums have been paid to certain media houses and social media influencers to isolate and escalate the damaging content of the press content and throw up negative narratives to frustrate the campaign.
“As a loyal and very dedicated Party man, I am obliged to alert PDP leaders, members, supporters and the general public and expose this furtive scheme against Atiku Abubakar, which is completely against the national interest.
“PDP members and the general public should be on alert and note the surreptitious real intentions of any press conference by any group of members of NEC, purported to be against the National Chairman.
“Any NEC member involved in such a press conference had obviously fallen to the juicy financial offer by the said National Vice Chairman and his paymasters.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is imperative to state that the overwhelming support being enjoyed by Atiku Abubakar across the board is not and cannot be bought with money as Nigerians see in him the embodiment of the solution our nation needs at this point.”
Present at the event were Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Delta State Governor and vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Adamawa, Ahmadu Fintiri and Taraba State Governor, Dairus Ishaku.
Others are former Presidents of the Senate, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Anyim Pius Anyim, former Speaker House of Representatives, Umaru Ghali Na’aba, House Minority leader, Ndidi Elumelu, PDP acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, former National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and former vice president, Architect Namadi Sambo among other party bigwigs.
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