ADC Primaries: My emergence shows Democracy is alive – Atiku

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the process leading to his emergence as the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) showed that democracy is alive and well. Speaking after wining the ticket in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said while democracy is being strangled and squashed by the ruling party and its “oppressive and anti-democratic […]

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the process leading to his emergence as the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) showed that democracy is alive and well.

Speaking after wining the ticket in Abuja on Wednesday, Atiku said while democracy is being strangled and squashed by the ruling party and its “oppressive and anti-democratic government, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress.”

“I wish to express my profound appreciation for the privilege, which you have bestowed on me, of leading our great party, the African Democratic Congress, into the next elections as its Presidential Candidate. I am truly humbled and excited by this singular honour.”

“We demonstrated that while democracy is being strangled and squashed by the ruling party and its oppressive and anti-democratic government, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress. In our party, members are allowed to express their views, to have ambitions and to contest for elective positions in a free, fair and transparent process.”

Atiku said ADC is determined to rescue the country’s democracy which is facing its “greatest threat since the return to democratic rule in 1999.”

He said in ADC members are allowed to express their views, to have ambitions and to contest for elective positions in a free, fair and transparent process.

Speaking further he said, “Our great party is a coalition built through hard work, immense sacrifices and compromises, guided by our determination to rescue our country’s democracy which is facing its greatest threat since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

“As I speak, virtually all opposition political parties in the country have leadership crisis engineered by the APC government, the INEC and elements in the judiciary. And opposition figures continue to be harassed and intimidated, including those languishing in detention, such as Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who distinguished himself as a public servant, including as a Minister and two-term Governor of Kaduna State. He has been in detention for three months despite court orders granting him bail.

“The government continues to harass, intimidate and coerce opposition politicians to join the APC using the security agencies as well as the agencies which were set up by a previous government to fight corruption. Under this government, once a person joins the APC, the harassment ceases and the charges against them magically disappear. This abuse of power must stop.”

While Congratulating those who contested with him, Atiku said, “I know that you are driven by your patriotism and commitment to a better Nigeria and improved life for our people. I know that, like me, you are deeply concerned about the rapid descent of our country into economic disaster, catastrophic insecurity, extreme nepotism, political intolerance and the drive towards a one-party state by the current government and its party. I thank you for your healthy participation in this democratic process.

“I must state at this juncture that this is not the time to celebrate. No one was defeated because we are one party and we all need to recognise the fierce urgency of the moment. Therefore, we have to unite, as we pledged before this process, to work to pull our country and our people out of the destructive grip of a corrupt, incompetent and polarising APC government.”