‘I’m not going away’ — Atiku hints at remaining active in politics

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says he will continue to fight for the nation’s democracy.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, he hinted that he will remain active in politics.

Abubakar has unsuccessfully aspired to be Nigeria’s president multiple times. He was on the ballot three times — 2007, 2019 and 2023.

By the next general election in 2027, Abubakar will be 81 years old.

“As for me and my party, this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away,” he said at the press conference, his first since the supreme court affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s election.

“For as long as I breathe, I will continue to struggle, with other Nigerians, to deepen our democracy and rule of law and for the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs to reach its true potential.

“That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation.”

ABUBAKAR ADVOCATES ELECTORAL, JUDICIAL REFORMS

Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, proposed several ways the nation can improve its electoral system.

He said there is a need to “urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people”.

He said the country must make electronic voting and collation of results mandatory, insisting that they are key to free and fair elections.

“This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies,” he said.

The former vice-president said all litigation arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of a winner.

He also proposed a single six-year term for the president, saying it must be rotated among the six geopolitical zones. Abubakar said the development would “reduce the desperation of incumbents and distractions from governing and also to promote equity and national unity”.

He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be mandated to verify the credentials submitted by candidates and their parties and where it is unable to do so, must publicly disclose so and have it on record.

Abubakar said there should also be a publicly available annual evaluation of the performance of judges using agreed criteria.

“By improving the transparency of the electoral process and reducing the incentives to cheat, in addition to transparency in the appointment of judges and other judicial reforms, the number of election petitions as well as corruption in the judiciary will be significantly reduced,” he said.