Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has
reacted to the Presidential declaration of the former military head of state,
General Muhammadu Buhari, under the platform of the All Progressives Congress
(APC).
The
former vice president, who is also a Presidential aspirant on the same platform,
described the decision as a welcomed idea.
This
was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the former vice president, a
copy obtained by Vanguard.
The
duo who are the chieftains of the APC, are contesting for the party’s ticket to
run for the 2015 general elections. Atiku stated that the task of rescuing
Nigeria is a duty leaders of the APC are committed to saying: “The more individuals ready to be part
of the mission to rescue the country, the better.”
READ ALSO: APC Denies Buhari, Others Automatic Ticket
He
said the country has floundered for far too long, and pointed out that the
citizens are yearning for a change, which APC must listen to before they lose
faith in the ability of their leaders to revive the country.
“You will recall that during my declaration speech
penultimate week, I did mention that my priority, if given the chance to run
and serve as the President of Nigeria is addressing the issues of jobs creation
and providing decent employment for Nigerians, especially the youths,” he said.
Atiku
expressed optimism that it is only when decent jobs are provided for the
youths, that the people can have hope for the decent future for our country.
READ ALSO: Atiku Reacts To Automatic Ticket
“It is also not in doubt that of recent, successive
administrations have failed woefully in building the infrastructure that can
promote a healthy economy: our education system is in shambles, public health
system is in virtual comatose, we have very poor network of roads totally at
variance with the wealth of a country that is the seventh oil producer in the
world.
“I believe that the country has failed in these areas
because of the excessive centralisation of functions and resources to the
government at the centre. The government that the APC plans to lead in the next
few months, by the grace of God, will be fully committed to devolution of
powers and resources to the state governments in line with the manifesto of our
great party,”
he said.
The
former vice president further hinted that he intends to march the
aforementioned resolution with a full commitment in order to make sure there is
transparency in all the sectors of the people’s life. He also expressed worries
over the manner the people were divided along ethnic and religious fault lines,
pointing out that Nigeria is gradually and dangerously losing a sense of
community where people can live together without mutual suspicion.
READ ALSO: Why 2015 Elections Will Be Tough – Buhari
“I believe that the next president of our country, who by
the grace of God will be produced by our great party, must be someone who is a
unifier, bridge-builder and not someone who bears ethno-religious bias. Above
all, he must embody a vision of a Nigeria for all. I have no doubt in my mind
that we both share a common concern about rescuing our country from the deadly
grip of the PDP and it is on this note that I do warmly welcome him on board in
this very important national rescue mission. I look forward to meeting him in
an open, free and fair contest for the ticket,” Atiku said.
Meanwhile,
on October 1, 2014, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former Head of State
reportedly expressed confidence
that Nigerians will vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
It
would be recalled that the two major contestants under the APC, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, reportedly clashed recently
following their divers opinion over the procedure for adopting the 2015
presidential candidate for the party.
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