Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the coming 2023 general election, former Vice -president Atiku Abubakar has promised that his presidency will guarantee that Igbo nation produces the next president of Nigeria.
Speaking in a town hall meeting in Awka, Anambra State capital after flagging off his campaign in the state yesterday, Atiku also promised that under his presidency the first six highest political offices in the country namely: president, vice-president, Senate president, Speaker of the House of Representatives, chief justice of the federation and secretary to the government of the federation, will be distributed among the six geo-political zones as a mark of equity and unification of the nation.
He also pledged that the National Assembly will be totally independent of the Executive arm and will be guided by its rules as reported by Leadership newspaper.
Atiku further asserted that having owned and managed a university, he knows the bottlenecks that create room for restiveness in tertiary institutions such as strike by academic and non-academic staff, and promised that under his presidency such restiveness will not be experienced “because I will remove the bottlenecks.”
He also promised that his administration will give 30 percent political offices to the youth, adding that the welfare of students will be given priority.
Atiku, who was accompanied by his running-mate, Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa, emphasised that it is because of his interest in Igbo political partnership that informed his choice of Igbo person as a running-mate each time he is contesting for the presidency of the country.
He pledged that even under his presidency, an Igbo man will have the opportunity of presiding as president of Nigeria because whenever he will be on leave or travels out of the country, his vice-president, Ifeanyi Okowa will preside as president.
“My running-mate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, is an Igbo man,” he said.
Atiku also promised that his administration will restructure the country through devolution of power.
Earlier, while playing host to the PDP presidential hopeful at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, Anambra state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo emphasised that issues about building Nigeria occupy the priority in any political engagement and urged Atiku and his party to put issues of the nation above politics.
He also urged that the Igbo nation be accorded its rightful place in the country for the country to move forward.
