2023: Atiku pledges to revamp Lake Chad Basin Authority, restore peace in Borno

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s nominee for president, declared that if elected in the presidential election of 2023, he will be dedicated to eradicating insecurity throughout Borno State and the entire nation.

Atiku, a native of the nearby state of Adamawa, promised to restructure the Lake Chad Basin Authority in order to give farmers and residents in the region’s north-east access to jobs.

In addition to ending Maiduguri’s two-year power outage, he promised to restart oil prospecting in the Lake Chad Basin.

During a speech at a PDP presidential campaign event in Maiduguri, Borno State, Atiku made these claims.

Atiku, who was Nigeria’s vice president for eight years, also promised to reduce taxation.

During the event, Atiku, who spoke majorly in Hausa, told PDP supporters in Maiduguri that the Shehu of Borno,Abubakar Umar-Garba, requested things which included oil exploration, security, water supply, agriculture and education.

He told the monarch that if PDP gets elected in 2023, he would ensure the five requests are granted.

“I visited the His Royal Highness the Shehu of Borno and he has asked me to tackle some critical problems faced by Borno state, which include the restoration of peace and security of the state, and w we promised him that we would do that when God grants us victory come 2023.

“The Shehu asked for the reconstruction of federal roads, and the revival of the Chad Basin Development Authority so that we can in increased food, we promised to do that.

“His Eminence has asked us to provide jobs for the youths in the region and also reactivate the exploration of oil and gas in Chad, we have promised him that we will do that for the people of Borno and the northeast in general.

“We are going to restore the electricity and take Borno out of the darkness. We are going to end hunger in the land,” he said.

Borno State, like Yobe and Adamawa, suffered from devastating Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgent attacks since at least 2010. Several millions of people have either been killed or displaced in the region.

Violent attack

Meanwhile, the rally was almost marred when some youths, who were alleged to be supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) attacked Atiku’s convoy.

A PDP Presidential Campaign spokesperson, Dino Melaye, claimed as many as 70 people were injured in the fracas. PREMIUM TIMES cannot independently confirm this number.

“But we have overcome their plot and here we are still holding the rally peacefully,” Mr Melaye said.

“The APC has failed the people of Northeast and they have nothing to show for it other than violence,” he added.

The Borno state police commissioner, Abdu Umar, confirmed some youths pelted Atiku’s convoy with stones but added that no lethal weapon was used or fired.

”Our men had arrested one of the hoodlums that used stones to attack the vehicles in the convoy of the visiting PDP presidential candidate, and the chap is currently being detained at the CID unit of the command, ” he said.

Ahead of Atiku’s visit, the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) mobilised its supporters to the streets in what seemed to be a show of force.

The atmosphere became tense as supporters of both parties lined up the entire stretch of the route that led from the airport to the venue of the rally at the city centre.

Atiku, who arrived in Maiduguri at about 11 a.m., visited the palace of the Shehu of Borno where he paid homage before heading to the venue of the rally.

On the way to the venue, a group of youths, alleged to be APC supporters, armed with sticks and stones, attacked the convoys and destroyed many vehicles.

A witness said “many of the PDP supporters who tried to resist the attackers were mobbed and injured in a violent clash.”

During the rally, taxes and commercial tricycles mysteriously disappeared from the streets of the city in what some believed was a ploy by the ruling party to frustrate the rally.