Atiku declares for presidency, says time for change is now

Atiku made the call in Abuja yesterday at his formal declaration to contest for the presidency under the platform of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).He said it was the responsibility of his generation of Nigerians to offer the upcoming generation a better direction of leadership as such the future of the country and its […]

Atiku made the call in Abuja yesterday at his formal declaration to contest for the presidency under the platform of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said it was the responsibility of his generation of Nigerians to offer the upcoming generation a better direction of leadership as such the future of the country and its leadership should not again be subjected to experimentation or learning on the job.
“Resentment, disillusionment and hopelessness are the emotions on which security and disharmony thrive. Our country is more divided today than any other time since the civil war,” he said.
He lamented the rising ethnic nationalism and religious bigotry which, according to him, are promoting social tension and mutual distrust among Nigerians.
He posited that the spate of insecurity in the form of insurgency,armed robbery, kidnapping and human trafficking have continued to ravage the country leading to loss of lives and property.
“A bunch of terrorists are hoisting their flags on large areas of our territory that they have claimed to have conquered. Unspeakable horrors are now being committed daily against our people by anti-social elements in the name of religion and other causes,” he added.
He noted that the present administration has almost destroyed what was bequeathed to it by its predecessors.
He said the Obasanjo administration in which he was the vice president handed over to its successor reforms like the gas to power master plan with a target of 26,000 megawatts electricity to be achieved in 2015 which it has failed to take seriously.
The former vice president said under their administration, Nigeria nearly paid off all its foreign debt which was affecting the economy and stabilised the exchange rate and reduced inflation.