Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday explained why he is running for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He noted that he was not running for selfish reasons but for the survival of Nigeria.
Atiku said this at the symposium and inauguration of the Atiku Mandate Group codenamed TAM-G in Lagos.
The former Vice-President, who served under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007, said his primary goal was to put Nigeria back on the path of economic prosperity.
Atiku who was represented by the National President and Chairman of the All Atiku Support Groups, Oladimeji Fabiyi, said apart from job creation, he would centre his campaign on uniting Nigerians who had been sharply divided along ethnic lines in recent time.
He said his decision to vie for the Presidency of Nigeria was “borne out of genuine desire to serve the people of Nigeria and to help bring the country back to the path of economic growth for the greater good of all Nigerians.
The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain added that the 2019 presidential election was “not about him as a person but for the survival of Nigeria.”
He said, “The Atiku campaign mantra will focus on the acronym (JOBS), which literally means creating jobs for the teeming majority of unemployed Nigerian youths; creating opportunities and the enabling environment for Nigerians to excel in their individual endeavours; reconciling and uniting Nigerians and creating a sense of belonging among all the ethnic groups in the country; and providing adequate and enduring security for lives and property of all Nigerians at all levels.”
The former Vice-President, who is running for President for the fifth time, said Nigerian youths would gain immensely from his Presidency if voted into power, stressing that most of his businesses were “managed by Nigerian youths; and the same will be replicated in Atiku’s government with over 40 per cent slots already pencilled down for the youths.”
Atiku also advised women to key into his Presidency project.
He described the Nigerian women as nation-builders who must be recognised and given their rightful place in the country.
