Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over the growing discontent among Nigerian youths regarding the state of governance in the country.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Sunday, Atiku revealed that he met with a group of young people from across the 19 northern states, who expressed their frustrations over fraudulent elections and the resultant economic hardships.
He said youths are worried that their votes do not count and that poor governance and policies are severely impacting their standard of living and private businesses.
He said, “Every time they come to have a conversation with me about bad governance, fraudulent elections, and resultant hardship being faced by citizens, I deeply feel sad about the situation.“Yesterday evening, I received yet another group of youths from across the 19 Northern states, led by Alh. Adamu Bappa Gombe.
“They were worried about how their votes don’t count and how bad governance and policies impact negatively on their standard of living and private businesses.”
In response, Atiku said he encouraged the youths not to lose hope and emphasised that change can only be achieved through the ballot box.He said, “I have continued to encourage them not to give up.
I told them the change they desire can only come through the ballot. I reminded them that they have a responsibility to mobilise their fellow young people to keep participating in the process of leadership recruitment through elections.
“I reminded them that the change they desire cannot be attained by voter apathy and that 25% to 30% voter turnout in every election cycle is not encouraging.
“I challenged them to make a huge difference by influencing massive participation in 2027.”
He also reiterated his commitment to combating anti-democratic forces, stating, “On our part, we shall not relent until Nigeria is recovered from anti-democratic forces.”
Atiku served as the Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo.He has made multiple attempts to become the President of Nigeria, running in six presidential elections.
He has left the PDP to join the African Democratic Congress, alongside his former rival Peter Obi.The move is part of a broader strategy to present a united opposition front against the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 presidential elections.