Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential Candidate, has stated that if elected in the 2023 general elections, his administration will reinvent the principle of national unity to reflect the peculiar agitations of Nigerians.
Atiku also stated that he has identified five thematic areas that will serve as the foundation for a new social contract with Nigerians.
The former vice president made the announcement in a Facebook and Twitter post following the inauguration of his campaign council and book launch on Wednesday night.
He stated that his administration would restore Nigeria’s unity through equity and social justice in order to foster cooperation and consensus among Nigeria’s diverse people.
He further emphasised that he would build a strong competitive and prosperous economy, create jobs and wealth and lift the poor out of poverty.
Atiku added that he would also improve and strengthen the education system to equip its recipients with the education and skills required to be competitive in the new global order driven by innovation in science and technology.
He said, “To this end, the first direction that our administration will take is to reinvent the principle of government of national unity which will make our administration reflect the peculiar agitations of our people. We shall restore Nigeria’s unity through equity and social justice as well as ensure cooperation and consensus among peoples effective heterogeneous peoples.
‘’We shall establish a strong, effective, democratic government that guarantees the safety and security of lives and property. We shall build a strong competitive and prosperous economy, create jobs and wealth and lift the poor out of poverty. We shall promote a federal system that will provide for a strong federal government to guarantee national unity while allowing the federating units to set their priorities.
‘’We shall improve and strengthen the education system to equip its recipients with the education and skills required to be competitive in the new global order which is driven by innovation in science and technology and to lead a healthy productive meaningful life.”
He pointed out that Nigeria had dipped below all low standards in socio-economic, and political benchmarks, saying the experience of the past seven years plus under the government of the APC had made Nigerians doubtful of its strength as a people.
He said, “In fact, it is safe to say that the greatest thing that the APC government will be remembered for is how it failed to maintain the integrity of our unity and how it has put a knife between the things that hitherto held us together
“Nigeria is a great nation, full of resources but broken by the malfeasance, despair, maladministration, divisive tendencies, pervasive insecurity, economic mismanagement, unprecedented corruption and rudderless leadership visited on her since 2015. We have therefore again picked up the gauntlet to lead Nigeria into a new horizon where every tendency shall find accommodation.”
The former vice-president said there was over-concentration of power in government, with multiple duplications of public agencies leading to the creation of parallel democracies.
He added that the federating units would benefit from the devolution of powers to increase their productive capacity for synergy and collaboration with each other and the corporate world, and also to create sustainability and employment for Nigerians.