2023: South West Youths Threaten Legal Action Against Atiku, If.....,

Oluwajimisola Jooda

Precious Akinyemi & 

Aderoju Gbadamosi

ABEOKUTA - People's Democratic Party (PDP) youths in the South West region of Nigeria under the auspices of Southern Youth Alliance (SOYA) have threatened to institute legal action against former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar if he fails to declare his presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The group President, Comrade Ismail Ridwan made this known on Monday at a press conference held at the PDP secretariat, Kuto, Abeokuta.

Ridwan noted that Atiku Abubakar remains the most qualified candidate to take Nigeria out of the current conundrum, expressing disappointment in the reluctance of the former Vice President to declare his ambition.

The SOYA president added that the deafening silence of Atiku portrays an act of cowardice which according to him, does not augur well with the youths.

He added that the PDP stalwart has the competencies and skills to rework Nigeria's economy and make the country competitive in the area of education and innovations. 

Speaking on why the group is not supporting young candidates, the SOYA president explained that the quality of ideas Atiku will offer the country override the call for youth in governance.

"Now, some people are beginning to draw parallels between an older person and a younger person. We believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong in whether it is an old person or a younger person. What is important is the quality of ideas that the leader is bringing to the table. 

"We, as youth groups of the PDP will not sit idly by where ideas are compromised for lesser values. What we need as a country is a competent leadership. There could be other wants, but we believe that what we need should trump what we want!

"We know that for every season, there are leaders that are cut out for the purpose of that season. Our unity as a country is at risk. The challenge before us as a nation requires that we search for a leader who, from his antecedents, we are sure that is fit for this particular situation that the country has found itself.

 

"One leader who is not bigoted, someone who can pick up the pieces and mend the divisions in the country from North to South; West to the East. A leader who can bring everyone to the roundtable table and have a discussion around these issues that beset the nation. 

 

"The man who fits into that call is someone that is widely known through the length and breadth of this country and that person is Atiku Abubakar. Atiku possesses the set skills to fix Nigeria and make Nigeria a great country again!

 

"He has the competencies and the skills to rework our national economy and make us competitive again in the area of education and innovations. 

 

"For us in the Southwest, the ideas that Atiku Abubakar has espoused through the years reflect the aspirations of our people. He is one leader who has expressly committed to restructuring even when it was not politically popular to do so. Atiku believes that there is an over-concentration of power in the central government and advocates that more power and resources should be delegated to states. 

 

"It is therefore on this note that we wish to express our discomfort to the campaign of calumny against the candidature of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar in the upcoming 2023 presidential election. In the same breath, we are also not comfortable with the seeming silence or reluctance of Atiku in declaring his intention to contest the presidential election. 

 

"We are respectfully making a demand that His Excellency Atiku Abubakar breaks the air about his ambition to run for the 2023 presidential election and make a declaration in the affirmative."