Atiku woos Abia delegates with restructuring, promises to tackle insecurity, education
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
A former Vice President and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, wooed delegates from Abia State with the promise of restructuring Nigeria if elected President of the country in 2023.
The promise is one of his five-point development agenda for the country should he become the next President, come 2023.
Atiku who met with Abia State Special Delegates to the PDP Presidential Primaries at Government House Banquet Hall, Umuahia, listed the remaining four-point development agenda to include; instituting symbol of unity, dealing with insecurity, the economy and education.
According to him, by 2023, PDP would have been in opposition for eight years, asking “we must win next election. Would we like to go back? Do we want to remain in opposition? These are the questions before us.
“Your aspiration as Igbo people will materialize and be realized. So, give me victory so that your aspiration will be realized.
“Together, we can achieve these goals if we unite as PDP and fight for power,” Atiku said.
“I came with these objectives and if you should be able to give me this opportunity, I believe we will work together to achieve them,” he added.
Earlier during a courtesy call on the state governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Atiku said that as a person who has a long standing relationship with Abia, he was in the State to consult with Abia delegates to the forthcoming PDP Presidential Primaries talking place on the 28th and 29th of this month.
Responding, Ikpeazu regretted that Nigeria has, in recent times, drifted into precarious situation where her citizens were more concerned on how to be alive, especially with the rate of insecurity across the country.
He said that citizens of the country were no longer thinking of infrastructure and other basic necessities of life but on how to survive the insecurity and economic quagmire ravaging the country.
“Nigeria had drifted further down the line from where we were in 2019. This country has come under serious challenges in recent times. The issues today in Nigeria is not about good life, we are no longer talking about infrastructure, we are asking for the opportunity to live.
“We just want to be alive, if we like, we can be hungry but let us be alive. Good life is out of the picture, we are not talking about power generation, we are not talking about sliding Dollar to Naira, we are not talking about good schools or university education, we are asking; can we just be breathing, can we have a country where we can stay and be alive,” the Governor said.
Ikpeazu described Atiku as one of the Founding Fathers of PDP, and commended him for his doggedness and courage in the quest to rescue and redefine Nigeria.
The Governor noted that Atiku was still playing a major role in the Nigerian polity and expressed hope that he would have a successful deliberation with Abia delegates.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, had said that they were in Abia to seek the support of the Governor, the delegates and PDP members.
Dokpesi, while appealing for the support of Abia delegates, noted that Atiku was ready to deliver democracy dividends to Nigerians, adding that the PDP presidential hopeful believes in democracy and was ready to take Nigeria out of its present predicament.
In his remarks, Abia PDP State Chairman, Rt. Hon. Alwell Asiforo Okere, expressed his excitement to receive Atiku, adding “we are not unaware of your contributions to the nation.”
A former Governor of Adamawa State, Bonni Haruna, among others, were in the entourage of the former Vice President; while members of the Abia state executive council, including the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Chris Ezem, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Okey Ahaiwe, Commissioner for information, Dr Eze Chikamnayo, Commissioner for Special Duties and Vulnerable Groups, Hon. Chisom Nwachukwu, among other government functionaries, were present during the visit
