The spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential council in the southeast, Dr. Josef Onoh has knocked the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar over a recent promise to be the stepping stone to an Igbo presidency in Nigeria.
Onoh said Atiku was Vice President of Nigeria for eight years and didn’t do anything tangible about empowering the Igbos politically.
He also took a swipe at the PDP candidate, saying he has not made any significant contribution on how to tackle the insecurity plaguing the southeast but wants the people of the region to vote for him in 2023.
Speaking further, Onoh alleged that Atiku does not understand the concept of restructuring which he is promising or how to achieve it but only lying
The reaction of the APC chieftain followed Atiku’s submission last Thursday in which he urged the people of the southeast region to vote for him to pave way for the Igbo presidency.
The former Vice President described himself as the stepping stone to the Igbo Presidency.
reports he made the submission in Anambra State while addressing supporters during his party’s presidential campaign in the state.
Atiku boasted that he has shown his support for the Igbo presidency by running with an Igbo man on three occasions while seeking the country’s presidency.
He told the people of Anambra that a vote for the Atiku/Okowa ticket in 2023 is a faster route to realizing the dream of an Igbo presidency.
But reacting, Onoh blasted the former Vice President, stating that his only affiliation to the southeast is marrying from the region but later divorcing the woman.
He said: “Atiku came to the southeast with intent to deceive because he cannot be talking about giving the south east restructuring as if it is exclusive to the south east or as if that is all we need.
“See him promising restructuring without knowing the full import of what the concept and content of restructuring entails.
“This reminds one of the episode under the Gowon administration when some students took to the streets in demonstration, shouting, ‘Ali Must Go!’ Non students joined them innocently, echoing ‘Ali Must Go!’ without knowing what the students were protesting against.
“He could not even tell us how the south east can be integrated in the federal government economic policies and other development needs. He could not tell us how he will revamp industrialization of the south east and create other federal government presence in the zone, but all he could say is restructuring as if the south east will be the only beneficiaries of restructuring.
“For Atiku’s information, what the southeast needs is federal government presence and full scale business initiatives as businessmen we are.”
Atiku Has Failed Us
The APC spokesperson said President Muhammadu Buhari has done visible things for the southeast including the second Niger Bridge and other things, but Atiku is only making vain promises.
He added that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu has also given a detailed outline on how to tackle insecurity in the region and has proven to have the interest of the region at heart.
In his words, “Atiku goofed as a Muslim by using the name of God in vain in his insincere promise. As vice president for eight years, how did he promote restructuring since he knows about restructuring; what did he do as vice president that encouraged businesses in the southeast?
We have to judge people by their past records because Atiku scored zero in the southeast as vice president. His only achievement in the southeast was marriage to our daughter whom he eventually divorced. As vice president he failed to deal with the issues affecting the southeast such as intolerable imbalance in the federal structure, as was and currently constituted; imbalance in appointments, and imbalance in the distribution of resources.
Atiku has failed to tell us how he will tackle the challenge of insecurity in the southeast. Asiwaju told us that he will negotiate with all the agitating groups to bring lasting peace but Atiku has not said anything about how to tackle insecurity challenges which is one of the major challenges in the southeast.
What Atiku rather came to sell was a dummy by promising us in the name of God that he doesn’t believe in. We are tired of Atiku’s Greek gifts. Let him keep his Trojan horse while we keep our Troy.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated inclusiveness by making the southeast his early campaign grounds and the first presidential candidate to campaign in the zone.”
