Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday appeared before the Presidential Screening Panel of the African Democratic Congress, where he presented what he described as a comprehensive economic rescue blueprint and a bold security agenda ahead of the party’s presidential nomination process.
Atiku, in a document he submitted to the panel, said the screening exercise provided him with an opportunity to outline practical solutions to Nigeria’s worsening economic and security challenges.
The former vice president said the country was grappling with economic stagnation, rising unemployment, institutional decline, and growing insecurity, insisting that urgent and decisive leadership was required to reverse the trend.
He lamented the hardship facing many Nigerians, noting that families and businesses were struggling under what he described as policy uncertainty and declining investor confidence.
According to him, his economic recovery plan would focus on job creation, expansion of the private sector, fiscal discipline, stable macroeconomic management, and policies aimed at restoring investor confidence in the Nigerian economy.
“Nigeria cannot continue on the current trajectory where families struggle daily under crushing hardship, businesses collapse under policy uncertainty, and investor confidence continues to erode in the absence of coherent economic leadership,” Atiku stated.
On insecurity, the presidential aspirant expressed concern over persistent killings, kidnappings, and attacks across the country, saying no responsible government should allow citizens to remain vulnerable to criminal violence.
He said his proposed security framework would prioritise intelligence-driven operations, improved collaboration among security agencies, decentralised policing structures, and firm political resolve to combat criminality.
“At this defining moment in our national life, Nigeria does not need experiments. It needs tested leadership, clarity of vision, and the courage to make difficult but necessary decisions in the national interest,” he said.
Atiku also reaffirmed his commitment to building what he described as a secure, united, and prosperous Nigeria where citizens can pursue opportunities in peace and dignity.
Another aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi, who also appeared before the screening panel, declared the existing federal character principle as unworkable, saying that the practice has outlived its usefulness.
He vowed to replace federal character with competency and meritocracy if elected president in 2027.
Amaechi, who was the third and the last aspirant to be screened by the panel, dismissed calls for him to step down for any other aspirant in the race for the ADC presidential ticket.
“We are going for primaries,” he told journalists shortly after he concluded his session with the panel and left the venue without further comments.
