….As Ayu harps on unity among PDP members
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has listed security, restructuring and creation of job opportunities as topmost on his priorities for the people of South East region in particular and Nigerians In general if elected President in the next year’s election.
Atiku, while addressing PDP supporters and residents of Imo State at the party’s presidential campaign rally held at the weekend in Owerri, the State capital, also said that when elected President next year, his presidency will be a South Easernt presidency.
The former Vice President of the country between 1999 and 2007, who recalled that the South East region recorded a lot of progress and development during the sixteen years’ rule of the PDP, pledged to replicate same if given the mandate to lead the country in 2023.
At the well attended rally, the PDP presidential candidate said, “I know we have security challenges all over the country, let me tell you when you elect me president I will come here sit down with you, discuss with you. Whatever is your problem, together we will settle the problem.
“I have been associated with the Igbo nation for many decades.
“I know that you are businessmen, I know that you are traders and so on an so forth. I want to assure you that If I have the opportunity and you give me the chance, your businesses/trades will pickup again.
“In my policy document, I said I am going to set aside $10 billion just to empower women and young men in business.
“There will be absolutely no need for any young man or woman not to have something to do, we will provide jobs.
“If you don’t want jobs, we will provide business for you, we will provide an environment where business will thrive.
“I know the entire southeast is yearning for the restructuring of the country and it is one of the five items of powers you want and the resources you want.
“We will work with the National Assembly to make sure powers are devolved to the federating units”, he said.
The Director-General of the PDP presidential campaign council, PCC, and Governor of Sokoto State, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, while speaking at the rally, described Atiku Abubakar as the greatest and most experienced of all the presidential candidates contesting next year’s general elections.
According to Tambuwal, “Our candidate, your own son, your brother that you know too well, that has done well for you before, he will do well for you again when you vote for him to become the president president of this country.
“He is very familiar with the southeastern states. He is very familiar of the Ndigbo. Seeking for your own support for him to get elected as president of Nigeria for us collectively as a team to rescue, to reunite this country, to rebuild this country.
“For this country to recover from abject poverty, from insecurity, from economic malaise.
“You know what the APC government has inflicted on this country in the last seven years. You will be convinced that Atiku Abubakar is the greatest and the greatest of the candidates that we have in this election, a pan Nigerian, a unifier who will, by the grace of God, reclaim and recover Nigeria and set Nigeria on the path of restructuring and on the path of economic growth”, he said.
Speaking at the gathering, the National Chairman of PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu harped on the need for the state chapter of the party and its members to shun division and work together as one indivisible group.
Ayu said, “I want to make it clear to everybody, we will not accept division in our party. Everybody must work together to produce victory.
“I want you to work together and produce the president on the 25th February, everybody should come out as one PDP family and vote for Atiku Abubakar as president, vote for all your National Assembly.
“Once you have won the presidency, take it for granted that Imo is back in the hands of PDP and we will take governance from there. I don’t want you to be divided.
“The issue of insecurity, which is the big problem in Imo, will be a thing of the past, because your voting for the president who understands the country, who had controlled security services as vice-president.
“We are going to support everyone of you particularly young men and women. Where there is cooperation there is no fighting”, Ayu said.
