Nigeria’s Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has decried the rate of
unemployment in the country.
He faulted the situation on Saturday when he officially flagged off his
presidential campaign in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
“Today, we have the highest unemployment rate in the history of our
country. More than 10 million youth are unemployed,” Atiku told a
gathering of supporters and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
at the rally.
He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of
poor leadership and worsening the nation’s economy.
Condemning the repeated killings in parts of the country, the former Vice
President said Nigeria was facing its worst security challenge since it
gained independence.
He, however, promised to revamp the nation’s security architecture, ensure
the safety of lives and property, as well as fix the economy if elected as
Nigeria’s president.
Less than 210 days to the presidential election, Atiku was confident that
he and the PDP would reclaim power at the centre from President Muhammadu
Buhari and the APC if he was given the party’s ticket.
“Today I have returned to reclaim what rightly belongs to the PDP,” the
presidential aspirant said. “My fellow Nigerians, the government of APC
has failed; it has failed to unite Nigeria.”
“Today, we are more divided than any other time in the history of this
country. The APC government has destroyed our economy. They took over an
economic growth of seven per cent and brought it down to less than two per
cent,” he claimed.
Atiku, a former APC chieftain, announced his defection from the ruling
party in November 2017 through his aide, Paul Ibe, after which he returned
to the PDP.
In his quest to become the nation’s number one citizen, he contested
against President Buhari and three others for the APC ticket in the
build-up to the 2015 general elections.
Having lost to the President in the APC primary conducted in 2014, the
former Vice President reportedly collapsed his structure to support
President Buhari during his campaign.
He had left the PDP to join the APC in February 2014, after he lost the
presidential election of 2007 on the platform of the then Action Congress.
While he was in the PDP, he had declared his intention to run for the
Presidency in 2011 but lost to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Atiku also contested for the Presidency in 1992 on the platform of the
then Social Democratic Party (SDP), but later stepped down for late MKO
Abiola who won the convention primary.