Atiku assures PDP’s NEC of victory at the polls

At the PDP National Executive Council meeting in Abuja Tuesday,
Atiku Abubakar who is the party’s presidential candidate, tells party
stalwarts that the party is at the edge of victory and urges them to
focus on Saturday’s election.

Here is the full speech.

Atiku Abubakar

I find it necessary to, firstly, pay tribute to every member of our
great party, and our long-suffering people who directly bear the costs
of the cancellation of the first phase of our general elections that was
to commence on February 16th, 2019.

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.

Inadequately prepared and yet deployed to hostile centres, these
personnel, like us all, have also become victims of the potentially
destructive path upon which our country has been thrust.

Nevertheless, together we stand poised on the edge of victory, but we
must not let down our guard or lessen our resolve as we have an
opponent who will stop at nothing to retain power.

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.

The feedback from our supporters throughout the country confirmed
their desire and willingness to entrust their destiny to us as a viable
alternative to their hopelessness.

However, it now appears that our participatory democracy which we
have enjoyed for 20 years, which empowers our citizens to decide who
leads them, is under threat.

This is worrisome, considering the great sacrifices including the
ultimate sacrifice made by many to uphold the tenets of democracy in our
country.

You will recall that during the Peace Accord process, I stated in
clear terms, quoting former President Goodluck that “my ambition is not
worth the blood of any Nigerian.”

Today, I call on President Buhari, to make that same commitment to
the people whose mandate he holds, while also urging all security
agencies to uphold our constitution with an understanding that voting is
a civil activity 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.

My fellow Nigerians and party men and women, I am certain that you
have also keenly followed with interest, utterances from the leadership
of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Gen. Buhari, which is a
painful reminder of the era of dictatorship and military rule.

Gen 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.

Alas, my concerns do not end there. Only yesterday Gen. Buhari said
“the military and police should be ruthless” and “anybody who disturbs
the voting system, will do it at the expense of his own life.”

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.

If you do, history will commend you for it. If you don’t history will condemn you for it.

We must now turn our attention to the upcoming elections this
Saturday, where the destiny of our people and country will resoundingly
be decided.

In spite of last week’s disappointment, I urge all Nigerians to come
out and vote for the candidate of their choice, keeping in mind our
desire to build a democratic and economically viable nation that will be
respected amongst the league of democratic nations.

So, let me reassure you my friends: we are going to win these
elections. And to our long-suffering citizens, I say do not despair, our
time is now, and together we shall reshape the destiny of our beloved
country.