Politics

Atiku Speaks On Why He Deleted Tweet Condemning Deborah’s Killing (Video)

Published

1 year ago

December 12, 2022

Atiku Answers why he deleted tweet condemning Deborah Samuel’s killing this night, Sunday, December 11th 2022 during Channels TV Presidential Town Hall.

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Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Nigeria’s presidency in the 2023 election, appeared at the Channels TV Presidential Town Hall on December 11, 2022..

Atiku attended the event with his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and responded to questions from Nigerians.

According to Atiku, Nigeria has not faced issues like they are currently facing since the end of the civil war.

He claimed that Nigeria has a divided nation, the biggest economic challenge and security issues.

Atiku referred to Nigeria as the “headquarter of poverty” in the globe and said that the nation has the highest rate of poverty in the world.

He added that the nation’s unemployment rate is the highest and that the educational system is in grave danger.

He noted that this sets him apart from the other contestants and that the nation needs somebody with his level of expertise, experience and track record.

He continued by saying that his experience spans both governance and the fight to reestablish democracy in Nigeria.

He also mentioned that he was one of those who opposed the military, which led to his forced exile and subsequent return to continue the fight.

Atiku said he was one of those who helped draft the 1999 Nigerian constitution.

On how he will fix the security challenges in the country, especially the IPOB and the unknown gunmen situation in the South East, the presidential candidate of the PDP said that every geopolitical zone has its own peculiar security challenge.

“The IPOB issue in the South East is basically as far as my understanding is concerned is about the realization of Biafra.

“Is it possible for Biafra to be realized today? How? By negotiations or by going through another civil war which we can’t afford to.

“So, I believe we should be able to negotiate with the agitators from the South East as far as the issue of Biafra is concerned.

“We believe what they need is more autonomy as far as their sub-region is concerned.

“That is why we proposed restructuring of the country, by which we mean devolution of more powers and resources.

“After all, there was Eastern Nigeria in the First Republic and they developed at their own pace and with their own resources.

“So, I see no reason why a middle-of-the-road solution, in other words, restructuring and devolution of more powers and resources, should not be a solution to their various agitations.

“The agitations are in different perspectives, to my understanding, one of it is political and political has the sense of ‘how does the South-East participate in power sharing in the country?’ And we are in a democratic society.

“There is no one single geopolitical zone in this country that on its own can achieve political power without crossing the Niger or being in alliance with other geopolitical zones.

“I think this is what they should begin to think: Okay, how do they partner with other parts of the country to secure political power for their own interests or to protect their own interests. I think these are the way to go as far as agitations for IPOB is concerned.”

Ifeanyi Okowa, Atiku’s running mate, stressed the importance of inclusive administration and strategic engagement.

He said: “I know that the South-East has continued to also agitate as a result of the fact that they don’t feel included.

“If you watch the security architecture of the current government, they don’t appear to play any major roles. So, they see themselves as ‘excluded’ as if they are not part of this nation.

“That is not the type of government that Atiku Abubakar wants to run. He’s going to run an all-inclusive government in which every segment of this country will have a feeling of being part of the government and the nation.

He added: “I think that obviously will, to a very large extent, add on to the other steps that our presidential candidate will take by the time he assumes office on May 29, 2023.”

When asked if he would scrap or retain the security votes in Nigeria, Atiku said he wouldn’t scrap them but would rather advocate accountability, emphasizing that government officials could not use security votes however they pleased.

He added that security votes had always existed, even before independence and vowed to make sure they were distributed and used wisely if elected.

Atiku said that he might employ the UAE’s security apparatus in Nigeria since tracking everyone’s whereabouts will discourage criminal activities.

He said: “You know, I have been to several parts of the world, one of the security architecture I admire is the UAE security architecture and it’s primarily based on monitoring.

“You don’t see policemen in uniform in UAE, you don’t see soldiers but virtually everybody is being monitored on a daily basis and particularly if you are a visitor; from the moment you step into the country till you go out, anywhere you are going you are being watched and that is the deployment of technology as far as security is concerned.