How will you stay connected to ordinary citizens and keep listening to their struggles if elected?

Nigeria needs peace and harmony, and we as citizens must ensure that we live our lives according to the pleasings of God. We must make justice and fairness the hallmark of our nation. Let's not pretend that all is well. Our country is deeply divided. The outcome of the 2023 presidential election has made this division worse. I'm sincerely worried about this appalling reality. Nigeria is so important to us that we shouldn't abandon its fate to divisive and demagogic politicians. We are all stakeholders in a united Nigeria. We must be part of the efforts to achieve interfaith dialogue to achieve peaceful coexistence and a clime of love and religious tolerance. -AA

Being text of a press conference by His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar (GCON), Waziri Adamawa, Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (2023), at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre on the 5th of October 2023. Protocol Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country. Political leadership and active citizenship matter because they are ways through which we all work together to build a country that works for all who live in it. Our country is bigger than any of us, and its standing in the world affects the fate of all who come from or live in it. As leaders, it is our duty to advance the well-being of all our people and of the country. For this purpose, my generation worked hard to return the soldiers to the barracks and to defend the right of the people to elect and establish for ourselves a legitimate government. Our elections are established and governed by law and founded on the constitution from which leadership and government in Nigeria alone derive their legitimacy.

The judgment of the Supreme Court earlier today affirming fiscal autonomy to local government councils in the country is a win for the people of Nigeria. The court’s ruling is a step in the right direction and a major corrective action in greasing the wheels of national development across the country. The decision by the Federal Government to consolidate disbursements of local councils’ revenues into the state government accounts was a decision that was borne out of politics of hasty compromise. I align with the decision of the Supreme Court that the structure of the Nigerian government is portioned in three layers, and of these, the local governments should be centres of development. I also share the belief that fiscal autonomy to the local governments should not be limited to revenues from the Federation Accounts, but indeed, should apply to Internally Generated Revenue from the respective local government authorities.

Last night, I played host to political stakeholders from Borno State, led by Hon. Mohammed Kumaila. It is encouraging to see that more people, especially political leaders from across the country, are increasingly becoming concerned about the deteriorating state of the Nigerian nation to the extent of engaging in finding solutions, round the clock. The conversation with the Borno leaders centred more on the current worsening security situation, especially in Northern Nigeria. The consensus is that the occupation of Nigerian territories across some parts of North East, North West, and North Central states is a clear failure of political leadership, especially under the Tinubu-led APC Federal Government. It is unacceptable that bandits or terrorists continue to takeover communities, imposing levies on citizens and disrupting farming activities. I believe that with the right political leadership, Nigerian security forces have the capacity to take on the insecurity confronting the country. It has become urgent for citizens to unite and rescue Nigeria. I thanked the Borno stakeholders for their show of concern about the state of the nation and expressed readiness to support efforts aimed at restoring the peace and economic prosperity of the country. -AA

It is tragic that in a country blessed with immense human and material resources, millions of our people have been reduced to refugees and beggars in their fatherland. Every responsible government holds the welfare and security of its citizens as supreme. But what we have today is an administration that has abandoned its people. Hunger is killing Nigerians, bandits are massacring communities, yet President Tinubu and his cabinet stand by, unmoved and uncaring. The beauty of democracy lies in the power of the ballot. Oppressed and battered as our people may feel today, they will have the chance to sweep away this inept government at the next polls. That is the power no cabal can take away from the people. At 65, Nigeria remains a giant moving painfully slow on feet of clay, a direct result of decades of poor leadership and wasteful governance. Nonetheless, with the right leadership, our dear country can still rise from the ashes of failed governance to reclaim its rightful place among the comity of nations.

If millions of young Nigerians participate peacefully, vote responsibly and defend the integrity of the process, no amount of money can overcome the collective will of the people. Democracy belongs to those who show up. Show up. Mandate Number Two: Reject Division. Embrace Our Shared Future. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Nigerian politics is that those who benefit from our divisions have convinced us that our neighbour is our enemy. They tell you your problem is your tribe. They tell you your problem is your religion. They tell you your problem is your region. Meanwhile, the real problems remain exactly the same. The young graduate in Kano is searching for work. The young entrepreneur in Aba struggles with electricity. The farmer in Benue worries about insecurity. The fisherman in Bayelsa wants a better market. The young woman in Lagos wants affordable housing. The student in Maiduguri wants quality education.