A former Nigerian vice-president, Atiku Abubakar has asked General Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Theophilus Danjuma, Dr Alex Ekwueme, and others whom Chief Obasanjo copied in his letter to President Jonathan to speak up.
According to the former vice president, although he was not competent to speak on the letter because he was not privy to the communication, he believes that General Theophilus Danjuma and other leaders who were consulted by the former president before the publication of the letter should intervene and reduce what he sees as, the tension created by Chief Obasanjo’s weighty allegations.
In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja, Abubakar said that, like every other Nigerian, he was nervous about the allegations made by the former president and that those elders mentioned by Obasanjo had a moral duty to add their voices to the issue.
The former vice president adds that the allegations were too disturbing to be treated with apathy by any political stakeholder and that at a moment of national anxiety or uncertainty, leaders across the country should rise to the occasion and reassure fellow Nigerians of the future.
Atiku said: “Our priorities for Nigeria are forging lasting solutions to our chronic unemployment, providing safety and security for all, and vastly improving our failing education systems. President Jonathan’s government has consistently failed to address these critical concerns.”
“That said, it is on record that I have firmly fought for a democracy where the voters choose their future leaders, not political party bosses. If the incumbent President insists on continuing to destroy his own party with vindictive internal wars and thinks his record of rising youth unemployment, never-ending violence, corruption and scandals is worthy of another term, then he is welcome to run. We are confident Nigerians will exercise their democratic right to choose new leadership in 2015.”