*Says Will Reopen Borders, Develop Southern Ports If Elected President
*‘I’m Not Sure INEC’ll Do What’s Right’
FORMER vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in next year’s general elections, Atiku Abubakar, said he has that evidence that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old.
In a recent BBC interview, Atiku, explaining why he believes he is qualified to contest the presidency, said: “I have a President who is 90 years old now, and who is sick. I am healthy; I am strong.
“So, why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?
“I have evidence that he is (90), and I will present it in court.”
The ADC presidential candidate stated that it was his constitutional right to contest the presidency, recalling that he had contested for governor four times, but was repeatedly disqualified by the then military authorities
He said: “I ran for governor four times, because at that position, the people who were in charge of Nigeria’s transition to democracy were military, and I was so anti-military.
“Any time I won, they would disqualify me. The last was when there was even an attempt on my life, and I went into exile.
“I’ve never found anything easy in my life. There is nothing new there. So, because I’m contesting the presidency two or three times… I mean, that’s not anything unusual in my life, in my political life.
“I have the experience, I have the competence, I have the patriotism. So, why would I not make all this available to the service of my country?
Atiku linked the lingering insecurity in the country to the “irresponsibility of government,” which he said had failed to pay adequate attention to the country’s defence and security needs.
He recalled: “I remember when we were in office, I told the President that, ‘look, we are over 200 million people and yet we have less than 200,000 policemen.
“Egypt that has about 80 million had one million policemen on the streets. And therefore, there is peace there.
“Believe me, within one year, we can control this insurgency and insecurity that is all over the place.”
Atiku said he was not confident that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would do the right thing in next year’s elections, alleging that the electoral body is under the influence of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
He stated: “I am not confident that INEC will do what is right, because it is under the influence of the current government.
“That is why we are urging Nigerians to come out in large numbers, cast their votes, protect their votes, and ensure that their votes count.”
He dismissed allegations that he was the major obstacle to the coalition, especially the G-100, saying: “That allegation is baseless. I, Atiku Abubakar, was among those who initiated the coalition, and many of those who started this journey with me are still part of it today.”
Atiku had earlier vowed to reopen Nigeria’s land borders and develop southern ports to boost trade if elected president when a political support group visited him in Abuja.
He, however, said more needed to be done to restore legitimate trans-border trade, particularly across Nigeria’s northern borders with neighbouring countries, adding that the closure of the country’s borders had affected legitimate trans-border trade and pushed many young entrepreneurs into bankruptcy and unemployment.
He noted that northern states share borders with Cameroun, Chad, Niger and the Benin Republic, making cross-border trade an important source of livelihood for residents, adding: “How can there be security?
“So, I said I’m going to reopen the borders.”
He said his administration would develop ports in the South to create a more balanced system for the importation and transportation of goods, noting that he had previously travelled across Europe to engage shipping and ship development companies on the issue.
“During the last campaign, I went across Europe to discuss with shippers and ship development companies on how we can together develop South and Southeastern ports, so that there is balance as far as importation of goods and transportation of goods are concerned.”
The former vice president stated that developing the ports in Calabar, Uyo and Port Harcourt would reduce the time and cost of transporting goods to the Northeast.
He insisted that reopening the land borders and improving port infrastructure would help stimulate businesses, facilitate the movement of goods and create economic opportunities.
