The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar says the South-East will take over from him after eight years.
The former Vice President reinstated that he will appoint an Igbo as a president after him, and make Igbos ride on his shoulders.
Atiku stated this at the PDP South-East zone stakeholders meeting, on Tuesday, held at the Base Event Centre, Enugu state.
He promised to build the 2nd Niger Bridge which, according to him, would benefit the entire nation.
Speaking on five major areas his government would develop if elected president in 2023, Atiku said: “We must win the election for the sake of Nigeria. It is our responsibility to Unify Nigeria as I take the lead.”
The PDP presidential candidate promised that security would be a top priority for the government he would lead.
Vowing that his government would include state policing, Atiku recalled his disagreement with his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, while in the office, saying that this is an opportunity to differentiate a criminal issue and political matter.
On subsidy, he said it is a fraud.
He further expressed worry over the Mondays sit-at-home observed in the South-East, which was introduced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He regretted that the zone which is the commercial area that feeds the economy, has been crippled by the sit-at-home order.
He also urged the elders to address the South-East youths who he claimed are misguided, to maximize the party’s victory in the 2023 elections.
Atiku, however, expressed fears that the election would be a very tough one, but by God’s grace, PDP would win.
On his part, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Atiku’s running mate, said the country is divided and needs a capable hand to reunite it.
He expressed optimism that the PDP is the only party with the capacity to reunite Nigeria.
He said: “We are in a country that is disunited. We cannot trust ourselves. This present government has disunited it more than ever.
“The solution to the problem of Nigeria is on who has the capacity. It is only PDP that has the strength in the whole six geo-political zones.”
Dignitaries present at the meeting include, the PDP National Chairman; Senator Iyorchia Ayu, Acting Chairman Board of Trustees; Senator Adolphus Wabara, Enugu State Governor; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others.
Meanwhile, the event was greeted with mammoth crowd and party faithful from the South-East, comprising Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Abia states.
