*Release Nnamdi Kanu within 100 days if…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has given the assurance that his government will support businesses, especially those in the South-East, and set aside a $10billion fund for them.
He also promised to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamndi Kanu, who has been held in detention since last year.
The PDP standard bearer said this during the party’s campaign rally in Umuahia, Abia State, on Saturday.
“My vice president has announced that we are going to set aside $10 billion to make sure that we support businesses, particularly in this part of the country,” he told the crowd at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
This, he noted, is part of his promises to business community in the region.
“I remember in 2019 when I came here, I addressed a group of businessmen from the South-East generally because Aba is the capital of the South-east as far as business is concerned,” Atiku added.
“I remember I addressed all Igbo businessmen and promised them that I am going to support them and set out a lot of money for the rehabilitation of businesses in Aba. So, it is still there.”
Atiku said other needs in the area, like the rehabilitation of Federal roads and provision of railways, will be addressed if he is elected.
The former vice president described the needs as “legitimate and they fall within our policy, which we tag: ‘My Covenant with Nigerians meaning our promise to Nigerians’”.
“We in PDP will be prepared to give Abians what they want. It is not an issue of ethnicity; it is not an issue of religion but it is an issue of good governance,” Atiku promised.
To further buttress his resolve to ensure there is an enabling environment for businesses in the State, Atiku recalled that he was part of the team that got the approval for the Abia Dry Port.
“It will only be my pleasure to make sure that the dry port functions and are operating,” the PDP flag bearer added.
He also rued the challenges facing the country under the All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that the country was much better when the PDP was in power between 1999 and 2015.
“You can all bear witness that when PDP was governing, Nigeria was prospering. That was the time Nigeria became the biggest economy in Africa,” he added.
“We created more jobs; we created more prosperity for everybody in this country. We brought about peace and we brought about unity.
To get Nigeria back on track, Atiku told the gathering to vote for the PDP, which he says will win this month’s presidential election.
“Therefore, it is better that you are on a winning ticket than on a ticket that cannot take you anywhere,” Atiku maintained.
Meanwhile, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said on Saturday that Atiku has promised to release the IPOB leader within the first one hundred days of his administration.
“Atiku has promised to release our son from prison in one hundred days of his administration. He is not afraid of anybody. He will do what he has promised,” Wabara stated.
The former senate president urged the electorate in Abia State to vote for the PDP presidential candidate on February 25.
Atiku had earlier arrived at the Umuahia Township Stadium for the event alongside his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, Governors Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
Also on the entourage were former vice president Namadi Sambo, and members of the PDP Board of Trustees.
A former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji; former PDP presidential aspirant, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, and the party’s stalwarts in Abia State were also around to receive the entourage.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State was, however, absent from the campaign; his deputy, Ude Okochukwu was present.