Politics
Presidential race 2019: Atiku storms Akwa Ibom State
- Vows PDP will win between 25 and 27 states in 2019
The campaign train of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar hit the political clime of Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday in continuation of the consultations and political horse trading for the 2019 presidential election. The former vice president has been traversing the length and breadth of Nigeria negotiating and mobilizing support for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic |Parity (PDP) to confront incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election.
Atiku at the PDP State Secretariat, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, encouraged PDP stakeholders in the state, saying that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win between 25 and 27 States in the 2019 presidential elections.
He remarked that his projection of victory for the PDP is pa function of the reality that Nigerians are already fed up with the hardship and intolerable disposition of the APC government.
The PDP presidential aspirant told Nigerians to oust APC from government if they desired to continue to have a country. He decried that those making Nigeria unbearable for its citizens today, were not part of the struggles towards the actualization of democracy.
“The country is in its worse state today. I have never seen it since the civil war. Ethnic division, north against south, this is very dangerous for our survival as a country. We must do all what we can to address this situation. We have to unite together to arrest this, otherwise you would one day wake up and find out that we don’t have a country, God forbid.
“We may end up with 25-27 PDP states in Nigeria, because every part of this country is fed up with this government. And this is the most intolerant government I have ever seen in this country. And unfortunately for us, he was not even part of this struggle.
“The situation in APC states is horrible. You cannot even meet like this. They are intolerable because they were not part of the struggle for actualization of democracy. If PDP was like this, there would not have been any opposition party in this country.
“Let us therefore unite and make sure that we free this country and our people from this situation. The political restructuring of this country is inevitable, whether we like it or not. We must deploy resources and powers to the federated units of this country. If states and Local Government Areas are given more resources and powers, the people would hold them accountable,” Atiku declared.
He lamented the disunity, ethnicity, division and religious intolerance so far promoted by the APC government, noting that such was quite dangerous for the continued survival and oneness of the country.
Atiku articulated that given the extent of decay in the country at the moment, Nigerians would need to support a candidate with the qualities, capacity, experience and the qualification to face the challenges; he declared: “I can do that job, but only with your support.”
Former PDP National Chairman, Chief Jim Nwodo, earlier remarked that Nigeria has reached the lowest point where hunger, poverty and killing of the people have become the order of the day.
He described Nigeria as a country under siege when there is no war, adding that the present federal government has failed to fulfill its campaign promises.
“We have never had it this bad. We were promised we’ll never go abroad for medical treatment, but the person who made the promise is first to go. Someone we’ve not seen his school certificate calls our youths lazy. In this state of total hopelessness, we bring a Messiah today. An exemplary entrepreneur, who recognizes intellect,” Nwodo said.
In their goodwill messages, PDP stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State unanimously expressed optimism that Atiku has the pedigree and the detribalized disposition to pull Nigeria out of its present predicament.
The party leaders consisting the state Party Chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo, Senator Anietie Okon, Sen. Helen Esuene, Chief Ndueso Essien, former Governor Chris Ekpenyong recalled Atiku’s role during the resource control struggles. They unanimously stressed the need for restructuring Nigeria and assured that Akwa Ibom practices PDP as a religion.
“If the state governor this time around gives a directive that is not in our collective interests, we the elders of the party would deviate,” Ekpenyong assured.