Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, said he is “not going away” and will “continue to struggle with other Nigerians to deepen democracy and rule of law, and for the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs to reach its true potential.”
Atiku, who lost his appeal last week against the declaration of Bola Tinubu as President, spoke during a press conference at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
The former vice president, however, noted: “That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation.”
He also lamented that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary have become the lost hope of the common man because of their alleged failure to protect the people’s mandate.
Disclosing a “few proposals” he believed would help the country, Atiku said: “We can urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people.”
Electronic voting and collation of results must be mandatory, Atiku said, noting: “This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies.”
According to him, authorities must provide that all litigations arising from a disputed election are concluded before a winner is inaugurated. “This was the case in 1979. The current time frame between elections and inauguration of winners is inadequate to dispense with election litigations,” he said.
He added: “What we have, currently, is akin to asking thieves to keep their loot and use the same to defend themselves while the case of their robbery is being decided. It only encourages banditry rather than discourages it.
“To ensure popular mandate and real representation, we must move to require a candidate for president to earn 50 per cent plus one of the valid votes cast, failing which a run-off between the top two candidates will be held.”
Meanwhile, reacting to Atiku’s press conference, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued a statement, saying: “Contrary to Atiku’s gloomy submission on our democracy, we are excited to tell the world that our democracy is thriving and blossoming.”
He added: “Atiku’s brand of politics is such that once an electoral process or election does not go his way or pave the way for his victory, democracy becomes dysfunctional and must therefore be imperiled. For him, democracy should either go his way or the highway.”
Guardian.ng