2019: Atiku weeps openly over state of the nation

FORMER Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday betrayed emotions as he wept openly over the sorry state of the nation where he received the nomination form to vie for the presidency under the Platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, bought by his Support group with a vow to restore sanity to the land if elected the President come 2019.

Speaking in Abuja today after Atiku Support group, a movement drumming support for his presidential candidature handed him the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms bought on his behalf to him for the presidential race, Atiku lamented the hopelessness in the country and assured that he was in the race to restore the lost glory of the nation which the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had failed to do as earlier promised.

He declared that the presentation of the nomination and Expression of interest form was significant and historic because it was the first time in his political career that young men and women in the country would come together without his knowledge and consent to contribute their hard earned money to buy him to the forms.

According to him, “it is almost three decades of my political career this year. But today has also turned out to be one of the most emotional days in those three decades of my political career. I have tried to present myself as a candidate for the office of the president in a number of elections. The only time I succeeded in being on the ballot was in 2007.

“In 2007, I was on the ballot not because I believe I was going to win but because I wanted to prove a constitutional issue so that all Nigerians can avail themselves with the constitutional protection and I succeeded at the Supreme Court. And that is why today no Nigerian can be stopped from contesting an election unless he has been convicted by a court of law.”

He pointed out that addressing the challenges‎ confronting the country was a possible task which must be done as the nation had a lot of young people who have gotten the talents, education, and experience to turn the country around.

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According to him, “but putting together such talented ‎young Nigerians requires leadership and it is that leadership we have not been fortunate enough to have on a consistent basis as that this country so that this country can take its rightful position in Africa and indeed the world

“But you could have seen one of the people who spoke, the lady who spoke virtually succeeded in getting me to weep. This is because she aptly described the challenges every Nigerian is facing in this country today and she believed honestly and sincerely from the bottom of her heart that I could be an instrument of addressing those challenges

“So, for such a woman to believe that I have got those leadership qualities and including those of you who have brought out your monies to by this form is one of the most serious challenges I have ever faced in my political career

“It is not that it is not doable, it is doable and I think together we can do it. So, ladies and gentlemen, I want to make an undertaking and I hope we get that opportunity to work together so that this undertaking of mine can be achieved because I alone cannot achieve that undertaking

“I hope this endeavours of ours will result in a success in the nomination and of course subsequently in the general election so that together we can work. The undertaking I’m going to give you is that it is our job together, and I promised you‎ we are going to doing it together

“Let me once again extend to you my greatest admiration for this gesture you have done to me and I believe as you purchased the form, so you will also run round to make sure that I ‎have been duly nominated from different parts of this country so that when I go to submit the forms I will again enjoy your company and support

“And on that day, let us overwhelm the PDP Secretariat, let us bring Abuja to a standstill, I bet you by the time we overwhelm the secretariat and bring Abuja to a standstill, the PDP we have no alternative than to give us the ticket.”

Atiku recalled that he was brought into politic as a young man by the Late Musa Yar’dua who urged them to break the regional siege that every part of the county had been subjected to which he said prompted all his actions in his political career in life.

Said he, “To him and for him that was a major objective, so when he died and I decided to build the Yar’dua centre in his memory, we got an architect to design and uncompleted bridge, the significance of that bridge was that we had started building bridges of understanding and unity across this country and unfortunately the man who started building that bridge died. I wish I could complete building that bridge.”

Earlier in his remarks, Princess Adekemi Adesanya on behalf of Atiku Support Group said that visionless leadership and bad economic policies were responsible for the present contraption in the nation’s economy.

She maintained that Atiku who had passed through the crucible of power curtilage, had all “it takes to transform the economy and entrench democratic ethos.”

Also, Speaking at the occasion, the National Co-ordinator ‎of Atiku. Abubakar Support Group, Hon Oladimeji Fabayi said that the various groups drumming supports for the Wazirin Adamawa decided to purchase to forms based on their conviction that he was capable of restoring sanity back to the country with his wealth of experience.

Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki also purchase his nomination and expression of interest forms for the Presidential race under the Party.

Senator Saraki eventually purchased the forms late yesterday ‎through the Director General of his Presidential Campaign Organization, Alhaji Mohammed Wakili, after two attempts earlier in the day were put off.

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