By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has promised that he will start the process of restructuring the country within six month of his adminsitration if voted into power.
Atiku made the pledge Thursday at the South West zonal rally of the PDP held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
He stated: “In the next two months you will be required to make history in this country, since the return of democracy in 1999, the best prosperity we have enjoyed in this country was under the PDP. The best peace we have enjoyed in this country was under the PDP, the best educational advancement all parts of this country enjoyed was under the PDP.
“Then in 2015, some liars deceived you people, they came to deceive us and we believed in them, we gave them the opportunity. They said they were going to create jobs, instead of creating jobs we have lost about 12 million jobs since they came to power.
“They said they were going to create prosperity, since they came, we have gotten poorer to the extent that today we have surpassed any country in the world in terms of poverty, we are the headquarters of poverty in the world. Is that the kind of government you want to continue with?
“My brothers and sisters, I stand before you today to promise you that we shall return your prosperity and the prosperity of this country. If you give me the opportunity again, I will assemble the best team so that we can return prosperity to our country.”
The former vice president said that the South West had been known for its educational strides even before independence, and promised to continue to invest in education to make sure that the zone excels.
On restructuring, Atiku noted, “Let me tell you one of the most important policies I have advocated for in this country is restructuring. Today, I stand before you to pledge that within six months, we shall start the process of reconstructing this country.”
Also, the Director General of the PDP presidential campaign council and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said that the only way for Nigerians to end this excruciating suffering is to vote out the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led federal government.
According to him, “The suffering is too much. The only way we can stop this suffering is to come out on the election day and vote Atiku.”
The former governor of Ekiti state and the South-west coordinator of PDP presidential campaign, Ayodele Fayose, urged the citizens to protect their votes during the election in 2019.
He said, “The only product we are selling is Atiku. PDP and Atiku. That is the product, the product that will come forward and participate in the debate, because I can tell you authoritatively that Buhari will not come.
“Therefore we must stand together because this election is won already. We are only to protect our votes and stand up for the PDP. It will happen and PDP will be announced again.”
On his part, the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, said that APC was afraid of Atiku because he was the only man who can rescue Nigeria from its current crisis.
He said, “APC took over in 2015, what did they come with? They came with hunger, they came with insecurity, people are being killed everyday in Nigeria, the president is not aware. If they kill people in Benue, he’s not aware, if there’s hunger in Oyo, he is not aware. He is not aware of anything. The economy collapsed, he said he was not aware.”
