Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, pledged to profer permanent solution to the agitations of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) if he is elected as President of the country come February 25, 2023 election.
This is coming just as Atiku also tasked party members to ensure PDP’s victory at their respective polling units as condition for qualifying them to benefit any appointment under his administration if eventually voted for as president.
Atiku made the pledge while addressing a mammoth crowd of PDP members and supporters when his campaign train birthed in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
In Atiku’s entourage were the national chairman of PDP, Iyorchia Ayu; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke; Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal; Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel; former governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke; former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, and his counterpart in Lagos State, Jide Adediran (Jandor).
Describing Nigeria’s educational system a critical sector of the nation’s life and human development, Atiku attributed the decay in the tertiary education sector to poor funding.
“There is something wrong with our educational system, we don’t fund them and we also don’t make sure that they have equipment in their laboratories.
“I will be very serious about education and I will not allow the standard of our education to fall neither will I allow our teachers to go without salaries,” Atiku stated.
Sharing his economic recovery plan with members of the party and supporters alike, Atiku said, “What we propose or what we plan to implement is to expand the economy so that once we do that, we believe unemployment and also living standard of our workers whether in the public or private will be improved.
“Those who understand economics know that expanding the economy means growing the economy and removing all obstacles that tend to affect the growth of the economy.
“We have done that before from 1999 to 2015 when we grew this economy and it became the biggest economy in Africa and the biggest growth in the history of this country as far as our GDP growth is concern.”
Commenting on the benefits awaiting party members in the post-2023 general elections, the former Vice President said if members of the party want PDP to return to power on May 29, 2023, they must all go back to their constituencies and work for the party to win elections.
“The fact that you (party members) are following the gubernatorial candidate or the Senatorial candidate or the House of Representatives candidate or the presidential candidate to campaigns is no qualification that you will get an appointment, it is not qualification that you will get a contract whether at the local government level, State or the Federal level.
“The only way, as far as I’m concerned is if I’m President, if you come and say you want a job or you want a contract, I will ask you let me have the result of your polling booth and that is what I’m going to direct to everybody because unless we do that we will not win the elections.
“You are all members of the PDP and supporters of the PDP, you want PDP to return to power, please I beg of you make sure you win your polling booths.
“You cannot be following the governor all the place or the Senator all the place and then you don’t win your polling booth and you come and say you want to be a Minister or you want to get this contract.
“So please, as members of our party, let us make sure that we go back to our constituencies and make sure that we deliver our polling units,” Atiku added.
