*Says Nigeria has never been this divided
*Insists the issue of restructuring is settled if he becomes president
*Urges Nigerians to come out en-mass to vote in 2019
By Emmanuel Nweze, Enugu
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential flag bear, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said yesterday that come what may, President Muhammadu Buhari must go in 2019.
Atiku who was addressing elders and leaders of thought in Igbo land in Enugu said that whether he eventually becomes president or not, he will fight to see that Buhari does not remain the president of Nigeria.
“I’ll fight to the last to make sure that Buhari goes, whether I am president or not, Buhari must go,” Atiku said.
The presidential hopeful lamented that under Buhari, the country has never been as divided as it is today.
“The nation has never seen this level of disunity, even during the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War,” he said.
According to him, nothing will make him go abroad rather he will be in Nigeria to ensure that things work well
To buttress his point that he is patriotic, he said that his children schooled abroad but he brought all of them back, saying that he is committed to rebuilding Nigeria from the present quagmire.
Atiku who replied to the catalogs of concerns raised by Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership as presented by the President General, Chief Nnia Nwodo, said that restructuring which is central to the mind of the Igbos is a foregone conclusion because he would never renege on restructuring.
“As far as I am concerned, the issue of restructuring is settled. I believe in restructuring because I am a product of a structured Nigeria,” he said urging all to come out en-mass to vote to achieve the objective.
Atiku dismissed APCs later day mantra of fiscal federalism and restructuring saying that it is a deceit. He promised to revive the coal industry in Enugu which not only would improve power supply but would create employment.
He also promised to put the Enugu International Airport in proper shape to make it befitting of an international airport.
Corroborating Atiku’s stand on restructuring, his national campaign manager, and Senate President Bukola Saraki said that Atiku has what it takes to retool Nigeria.
“Atiku is a man of the moment. He will unite Nigeria. He is a Nigerian and he will do well for Nigeria. He is the man that can do it because he has what it takes,” he said.
Saraki urged Nigerians to take away fear because the 2019 election is for all Nigerians.
National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, in his remark, said that Atiku was a man that would change Nigeria and make it work again and lamented the waste of human lives in Nigeria since APC took over power.
Secondus lamented that in the last three years, lives lost in Nigeria far outweigh the lives that were lost during the civil war, and opined that Atiku’s government will change the tide.