Wednesday April 15, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has said the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Joash Amupitan will not get away with alleged illegalities.
Atiku, who spoke at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Convention, in Abuja, yesterday, alleged INEC was being used to undermine democracy in the country.
The former president noted that Federal Government should be aware that pro-democracy forces fought the military to restore democracy in the country and was ready to take on the government to achieve same purpose.
Nonetheless, Atiku, while recalling his sojourn in the All Progressives Congress (APC) appealed to members of the ADC to ensure that the country experience real change this time around.
“Every issue, every challenge, every problem confronting us as a country and as a people has been stated on this platform. What I would like to appeal to Nigerians, and particularly members of the ADC, is to make sure that this time around, we really need to change the situation in the country.
“I remember when the APC was being formed, the entire political leadership in this country came to my house. ‘If you don’t come into the APC, this is not going to be possible.’ They literally compelled me to join the APC. Only for us to enter the APC, our economy is gone, our sovereignty is gone, our security is gone, our education is gone, our infrastructure is gone. The healthcare is gone.
“Now, people like me, we must rise and make sure that there is change, genuine change, a serious change to rectify all these challenges that are happening in the country. I am in this game. We are going to win. Because of you, the young men and women, our children and our grandchildren, this country has been good to us.
“And we don’t believe that this country is being good to the current generation, to the youth, to the women, and to the future of this country. That is why we are here today. You will see real change. Believe me, you cannot get away with corruption in the government of ADC. You cannot. You cannot get away with compromising with criminals and terrorists to make life impossible in this country. No. That is not what we intend to do. Absolutely not.
“I will not end these remarks without indicting the chairman of INEC and INEC itself, because it is clear, it is obvious, the evidence is there. Now, INEC is being used to undermine democracy in this country.
“Let the federal government know that we fought the military to bring democracy in this country, and we are going to fight them to bring democracy in this country.
“Let the chairman know we are not going to let him get away with his illegalities. We will not. And I hope we will have your support and cooperation to make sure we return to true democracy, to true development in all aspects of human endeavor.”
Similarly, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, while speaking at the convention, decried the state of affairs in the country. Obi, who said the country is collapsing stated there is need to arrest the drift.
“We need to work as a united Nigeria for the sake of Nigeria. The country is so divided; we need unity. The present government has ensured that it will remain more divided. Your unity is important. Your country is collapsing, and if you allow it to go further, it will be worse.
“If you check your indexes today, when the present government came into being, Nigeria ranking in terrorism was number eight. Today, we are number four. So in the next four years, we will be number one. When this government came into being, if you go and check World Bank records, our poverty rate was 41.6 percent, 88 million people. Today, we are 63 percent, 140 million. So they have almost doubled that,” he stated.
*Platinum POST
