“More Nigerians Were Killed in The Last Four Years Than Ever Before”- Atiku

Speaking at the National Executive Council meeting of the People’s Democratic Party in Abuja on Tuesday, the party’s presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar averred that more Nigerians were killed in the last four years than ever before. He also stated that about 14 million more Nigerians became jobless as a result of what he called the “incompetence” of the All Progressives Congress.

Speaking on the postponement of the election, Atiku said “I am sure we can all relate to the losses and burden on our citizens who travelled to various destinations for the exercise.

This is in addition to the burden on election personnel willing to sacrifice in furtherance of our democracy”.

Noting that his party’s opponent “will stop at nothing to retain power”, Atiku said “our goal is not to gain power for our own sake, but for the people of our country who have been so hard hit by four years of APC cluelessness and incompetence.

Four years which have seen 14 million more of our people without jobs, more of our people killed than ever before and more of our people living in extreme poverty than any other nation on this planet.

Let us not forget that in the last three years of the last PDP administration, Nigeria had become the largest economy in Africa and in each of those years, we had the fastest growth rate in our continent.

And so true to our values and commitment to chart a new path for our beloved country, our campaigns have been issues based, offering Nigerians hope for a better tomorrow; while demanding free, fair, transparent and credible elections from the government”.

While explaining why he feels Nigeria’s 20-year-old democracy might be under threat, Atiku Abubakar called on President Buhari and security agencies to uphold Nigeria’s constitution with an understanding that voting is a civil right and civic responsibility.

“The Nigerian military is constitutionally responsible for protecting our national integrity and its borders and has no role to play in the conduct of elections.

Additionally, I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), once again to remain impartial arbiters while ensuring that they conduct credible elections, this time around.

INEC must ensure that all logistical challenges are addressed between now and Saturday, the 23rd, and that all materials retrieved from the field are inspected by participating political parties before the commencement of the elections”, Atiku stated.

He also took time to point out that the President’s utterances and those from his party bring back memories of the days of military dictatorship. He said “General Buhari has repeatedly violated the constitution and failed to uphold the rule of law, recent instances include the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the day before he was to appoint the judges for the electoral tribunals that will decide any appeals of whether any of our elections were subject to manipulation.Thereby crossing the immutable line that divides the Executive from the Judiciary.”

In reaction to the President’s threat that those who disrupt the voting system would do so at the risk of their lives, Atiku stated that “It is quite shocking for any head of state to utter such words in a democracy. A pre-condition for ‘free, fair and credible’ elections is that the people are able to cast their vote without fear of violence.

Elected into office by the votes of the people in what is considered Nigeria’s most free, fair and credible election, you owe it to our people to let them give their verdict in the same way you were elected”.