By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential aspirant in the 2023 general election Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to resolve all the disputes existing between the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU, and the Federal Government, which has kept Nigerian students perpetually at home for some months now, if elected as President in the forthcoming general elections.
Atiku who is seeking for the position of the president under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, also assured the delegates and Nigerians in general of his preparedness to restructure the country once he assumed office of the President.
Atiku made the pledge while addressing PDP delegates at the Transcorp Hotel Calabar, on Saturday evening, as he was welcomed by the delegates to Cross River State.
The presidential hopeful stressed that the wealth of experience gained over the years in the area of school management, which he had been using to pilot affairs of his private university in the last two decades will be brought to bear in resolving all contending issues that crippled the nation’s university system, where young people who ought to stay in school have remained perpetually at home due to the government’s inability to get the issues resolved.
He said, “I will tackle the issues of our universities having their students remaining at home in the name of strike.
“I have one of the best universities in the country. In the last 20 years, we have not gone on strike for even an hour.”
While assuring the delegates and Nigerians of his willingness to restructure the country, Atiku said, “I am going to relate with the National Assembly to restructure this country.
“It means I will reduce the size of this country and give more power to states, local governments and the regions.
“I will not only give power to states, but more resources to take care of their needs.”
While soliciting for votes from the delegates, Atiku said, “If you don’t elect the right candidate who can win election for the PDP, history will judge you.”
On the issue of insecurity, Atiku said, “I will secure this country,” promising to get the nation’s security architecture restructured to stem the tide of insecurity troubling the nation in recent times.
He added, “As long as there is insecurity, you cannot do anything. There was peace before the All Progressives Congress, APC, jettisoned it. We cannot afford to have the PDP in opposition again.”
Atiku stressed that the nation was basking in peace and prosperity in 1999 when power was being managed by the PDP until the APC took over power in 2015 and got the economy of the country destroyed, making the nation the poverty headquarters of the world.
