Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday announced his return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP via a live Facebook broadcast. Atiku Abubakar
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday announced his return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP via a live Facebook broadcast. Atiku Abubakar was among notable politicians who left the PDP in 2014 to form an alliance that transformed into the All Progressives Congress. In the broadcast, the former vice-president said his decision to announce his return to the PDP, a party he helped form, via facebook was because he wanted to reach as many young people as possible.
He said he joined the APC because he had hoped that it would improve the lives of Nigerians and was excited about the party’s manifesto to create three million new jobs a year. The former vice-president said the APC-led Federal Government had disappointed Nigerians, particularly youths adding that in the last two years, three million Nigerians had lost their jobs, a thing of concern among the youths, something he discovered from his numerous travels across the country.
“Without a job, they have no means of sustaining themselves or starting a family. Without the security of a job, we cannot have security in our country. So without jobs, there is no future for you or for Nigeria,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “The key to creating jobs is a strong economy and that is what we lack presently. Today, I want to let you know that I am returning home to the PDP as the issues that made me leave it have been resolved and it is clear that the APC has let the people, especially youths, down. Nigeria needs a non-sectional party to run the Federal Government and not one that panders to regional sentiments.
“Creating jobs is something I know about as I have created over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs in my home state of Adamawa and I also know how the government can create opportunities for jobs.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has said he could still contest the party’s presidential ticket despite Atiku’s defection. When asked about his interest to run, Makarfi said, “By the time I leave as a caretaker committee chairman on December 9 or 10, there will still be 10 months to the party primaries. By any law or the party’s guidelines, I’m not excluded. We are expecting a harvest of defections from the APC. Wait a bit and you will see the influx of people into the PDP,” he added.
