Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has made a commitment to the people of the Niger Delta, promising to devolve powers from the central government and restructure Nigeria if elected. Speaking at a PDP campaign rally in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Monday, Atiku acknowledged the region’s longstanding demands for resource control and restructuring. He assured the audience that his administration would address these issues, emphasizing his intention to implement a five-point developmental agenda focused on unifying the country, tackling insecurity, improving the economy, resolving university strikes, and restructuring.
Atiku highlighted the pressing security challenges faced by Bayelsa State, stating, “I promised to tackle insecurity. Here in Bayelsa State, you have faced a number of security challenges. You have lost so many people due to breaches of law and order. I promise I will restore security in this country.” He further emphasized the need for restructuring, asserting that the Niger Delta requires it more than any other region. He pledged to provide the area with greater resources and authority to address its unique problems, stating, “You don’t have to always start begging the Federal Government.”
In support of Atiku’s vision, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri remarked that Atiku is the only presidential candidate who has committed to restructuring for the Ijaw people and the Niger Delta. Diri noted, “Now, the only candidate who has keyed in and who has talked about what the Ijaw people want and what the people of Bayelsa want is Atiku; we have been talking about resource control, and Atiku is the only candidate that has talked about the restructuring of this country. Therefore, Atiku and the PDP are the only candidates and parties for which the Ijaw people will vote.”
Additionally, Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP’s vice presidential candidate and governor of Delta State, urged the people of Bayelsa to deliver no fewer than 700,000 votes for the party, while calling on the entire geopolitical zone to contribute at least five million votes for the PDP in the upcoming presidential elections.
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