17th December, 2022
The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has assured Igbo people that they would be carried along in the scheme of things if he is elected Nigeria’s president in 2023.
Atiku said this on Saturday in Owerri, Imo state, on the second leg of his national campaign tour in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.
Pointing out that Imo state is home to him, having received his first chieftaincy title from the South-East in a community there, Atiku said: “For me, it is homecoming to Imo again. It is homecoming to me because the first chieftaincy title to be given to me in the South-East, Governor as given to me here in Imo state: Nwanne De Namba of Ngor Okpala.
“This airport, the Imo airport; we dashed this airport to the people of Imo state. Our community, the community to which I belong. The community to which I belonged first in the South-East. That is why if I’m the president, Imo is the Presidency. It is your own Presidency,” he emphasized.
Turning to security issues, which the ex-Vice President acknowledges is all over the country, he promised the people of Imo that he would work closely with them to reverse the trend. “Together, we would work out a settlement,” he said.
On youth and women empowerment, Atiku again promised to set aside $10 million for the purpose of boosting trade and businesses.
“I have been associated with the Ibo nation for many decades. I know that you are businessmen. I know that you are traders and so on. I want to assure you that if I have the opportunity and you elect me, business and trading will pick up again,” he said.
Before the rally, the Atiku/Okowa campaign team had met with traditional rulers in Imo State under the auspices of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Chairmanship of Dr E. C. Okeke, Ezeudo II of Amaifeke.
In a message on his social media handles the candidate wrote that: “Our engagement was robust and reassuring. I’m also grateful to the monarchs for sharing their time and for the wealth of their insights.”
In his remarks, the Director General of the Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign organization, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, reassured the people of Imo state that Atiku did well for them in past and will do so again if he is voted president in 2023.
“He is very familiar with the issues of Imo state. He is very familiar with the issues of South-Eastern states. He is very familiar with the issues of the Ndi Igbo. He is your in-law and your brother.
He is here to seek your support to be elected president of Nigeria,” he said.