Kí ni èsì rẹ sí ìkíni mi, Ọ̀gá Ààrẹ?

I sincerely thank the delegation from Jada and Ganye Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, who paid me a courtesy visit yesterday. Special thanks also to Senator Abdul Ningi, @Sen_AbdulNingi, who joined me in welcoming the delegation. -AA

Seemingly, Mr President’s illegal and unconstitutional proclamation was driven by the protracted insidious political crisis in Rivers State, culminating in the recent ruling of the Supreme Court. Ordinarily, all parties involved would have been expected to follow laid-down procedures, motivated by good faith, to quickly implement the judgment of the highest court of the land. We note that Governor Fubara’s disposition is geared towards full implementation of the ruling of the Supreme Court, despite provocative statements from opposing quarters. It is also notable that Mr President’s broadcast to the nation on 18th March 2025 betrayed his bias and is infra dig of the sophisticated communication expected from the highest office in the land. By so doing, the President dragged himself and his highly exalted office into the arena of the political brawl, thereby denigrating his high office through inelegant language, predisposed excessiveness and malignant deportment.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we have to brace up; we don’t have much time. Closing Appeal. In closing this short speech, I would like to appeal to our sense of responsibility as Northern leaders to reconsider our priorities and rise up to the numerous challenges facing the North. We have seen how the North remembers its true leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello, gone for a long time, but still remembered every day. Let us ask ourselves, how would we like to be remembered, after we have gone? As people who made the necessary sacrifices for the rest of us? Or as people who seized the opportunities and only buttered their bread? If there is any time for the North to unite, it is now. And it is my ardent hope that we should resist those trying to divide us along ethnic or religious lines and rise above these differences; look at the challenges on the horizon and come together as the one people we have always been.

TINUBU PROTESTED JONATHAN’S FUEL PRICES. FIVE NIGERIANS ARE NOW REPORTEDLY IN CUSTODY OVER “TINUBU MUST GO” T-SHIRTS — ATIKU Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate release of five Nigerians reportedly arrested in Borno State over T-shirts bearing the words “Tinubu Must Go.” He said that if a political slogan is the reason for their detention, those responsible must explain how wearing a shirt became an offence in a democracy. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said President Bola Tinubu once stood with Nigerians protesting fuel prices under President Goodluck Jonathan, but now presides over a cost-of-living crisis that has made the same fuel, along with food, transport and electricity, painfully expensive. “Tinubu opposed Jonathan’s fuel policy in the streets. Nigerians are living with the consequences of Tinubu’s fuel policy in their homes. Parents are cutting meals. Workers can scarcely afford the journey to work. Families are being crushed by bills that rise faster than their income. And when citizens put their anger on a T-shirt, the response is reportedly an arrest. What kind of democracy grants its President the right to protest, then takes that right away from everyone else?” Atiku asked.

We will introduce a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries. Imported petrol will not qualify. The benefit must reach consumers through lower pump prices. We will publish the costs, independently audit the payments and cut government waste to help fund the programme. The principle is simple: produce here, refine here, create jobs here and pay less here. If Bola disagrees, he should answer the proposal on its merits. Calling relief an addiction will not lower the price of petrol. Bola, your speech is full of “we will.” We will make farming cheaper. We will power factories. We will create jobs. We will bring down prices. You have been President for more than three years. Nigerians are entitled to ask what you have done with the time already given to you. You say that when farmers produce more cheaply and manufacturers spend less on electricity, prices will fall. Of course they will. But farmers and manufacturers are telling you that they cannot produce cheaply now. A farmer who cannot safely reach his field cannot wait for your theory of cheaper food. A factory paying more to keep its machines running cannot wait for another promise of industrial growth.

Our founders did not win sovereignty so that a few could prosper while millions merely survive. Their promise lives in ordinary hopes: a meal a family can afford, a safe road home, a child free to learn, and work that offers a path to a better life. Those hopes are neither extravagant nor beyond Nigeria’s reach. Bola, the Promised Land is not in sight merely because you can see it from the villa. Nigerians must be able to reach it. We have  chosen a different course, peacefully and together, through the power of our votes; the message is clear: Tinubu must go. Happy Independence Day. May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar, GCON Presidential Candidate, African Democratic Congress.

Question: What would you say to South-East voters who believe that their region has been denied a fair opportunity to produce the president and why should they trust you? Answer: I have said repeatedly that I represent the best political bridge to actualize the dream of a Southeast presidency. I make the assertion with all sense of modesty based on our shared history. The Southeast and the Northeast, where I come from, must work together within the framework of a pan-Nigerian project to lead negotiation for correcting the power-sharing imbalance in Nigeria. The clamour for Southeast presidency is as valid as the clamour for Northeast presidency. I believe that it is based on mutual understanding and cooperation that the Southeast and Northeast can achieve the goal of producing a president of Nigeria—neither can go it alone.

Wa alaikumu salaam, and welcome. I'm glad to have you here. This platform, Ask AA, is one I have built as a public information portal, a place for Nigerians to engage with me directly on government policies and initiatives. It will grow into a Presidential Promise Tracker, where you can monitor the promises I make, follow how they are being implemented, and see exactly how public funds are being spent. That is how we build transparency and accountability at every level of government, not by asking you to take my word for it, but by laying the record open for you to examine yourself. I see you, and young Nigerians like you, not as a restless population to be managed or mobilised only at election time, but as the greatest national asset this country has ever produced. The innovators, the farmers, the creators, the engineers, the doctors, the teachers, the entrepreneurs, the artisans, you are the ones proving every day what the Nigerian spirit can do.