POST-NOMINATION WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE

ABUJA February 16, 1999

As you already know, the Special National Convention of our great Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, which ended in Jos yesterday has nominated me to be the Flagbearer in the forthcoming presidential elections.

The nomination marks a successful stage in my campaign to offer myself for service to Nigerians as their president in a democratic setting. The transparent and fair manner in which the presidential primaries were conducted was indeed a clear demonstration of the commitment of our great party to the principles of democracy. It has heightened my optimism about the the future of democratic government in our country. I commend the leadership of the PDP at all levels for their efforts in laying such solid foundation for our party.

I also want to thank my fellow contestants for the presidential ticket of the PDP. Dr Alex Ekwueme, Chief Don Etiebet, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, Chief Philip Asiodu, Senator Francis Ellah, deserve commendation for the dynamism of the campaigns they conducted and for the graciousness with which they accepted the verdict of the Convention. I have assured them that their visions will be accommodated in our vision of a greater Nigeria, and they in turn have offered their full support to ensure that our great party becomes the platform for realising that vision. The internal contest in the PDP is over. We have resolved to work together as a strong united family in our collective desire to lift Nigeria up from poverty and despair which has become its lot over the last two decades. I believe that the Almighty God will crown our efforts with success.

Over the last 20 years, most of the institutions left during my first coming have broken down and suffered grievous decay due to the lack of committed and effective leadership in government. A once proud people have been brought to their knees by bad governance, and in place of vision of greatness we once had, we now have despair and despondency.

In my acceptance speech in Jos yesterday, I made a solemn pledge before our people, before the whole world and before God, that I will devote all my energy and all I possess in my power to serve the people of Nigeria and humanity, in justice and with fairness. I also pledged to build a team of worthy Nigerians to join me in the great task of uplifting this nation and its people, and to build bridges that will bind our diverse people.

The great task ahead is one of reconstruction, to rebuild the foundations of our society, to rebuild peoples’ confidence in themselves and to re-establish the standards of democratic practices, good governance and ethical behaviour in public life.

I firmly believe that our country can be made great again. That is why I seek the peoples’ mandate on the platform of the PDP, the party which the vast majority of Nigerians have chosen to express their aspirations. With our rich endowment in human resources, the PDP, under my leadership shall strive tp eradicate poverty ans ensure that within four years Nigerians will be guaranteed the basic necessities of life. We shall strive to expand the opportunities available to our women in the economy and in other aspects of our national life. We shall also ensure that our youth get the special attention they deserve, they must fully involved in the process of charting our collective destiny.

We shall achieve our goals through honest, just, transparent, dedicated and courageous leadership. We shall be responsive and accountable to the people at all times.

In pursuance of our objective to run a purposeful and result-oriented government, we have after due consultations with leaders of our great party selected Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Turaki Adamawa, the Governor-elect of Adamawa State, as my running mate. The Turaki Adamawa has been in public life long enough to be familiar to many of you. He is a retired civil servant and a skillful politician who also has the advantage of youth. I believe he is a suitable bridge across the generation gap in Nigerian politics.

Let me formally end this brief statement by once more asking all the people of this country for their mandate. The PDP’s umbrella is large enough to accommodate all our people. We must join hands to reconstruct Nigeria and make it great again.

Long live the PDP!

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.