Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to claims that he is too old to be president and should pave way for a younger candidate to challenge incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Atiku, who is running for top job in the land under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), told the BBC’s Mayeni Jones on Thursday that his age should be irrelevant in the contest.
According to him, he still feels healthy and fit to perform the duties of a president.
He added that he has had very cordial relations with the younger generations and that most of those he mentored politically in the past were now governors and very important political figures in the country.
His words: “I have not stopped any young man from running, please Jones, and there are many of them that are running anyway.so, why do people want to bring discrimination here because of my age?
“I feel I have the strength, the health, the capacity to do it. Why should my age be an issue? i have been interacting with younger people. When I was in government, I brought in more younger people, and today some of them are governors, some of them are occupying very important political positions in the country.”
Asked whether he would concede defeat if he loses the elections to President Buhari, he sad: “The problem is we are working very hard. That’s why we appeal to the international community to work together with us to ensure the elections are not only seen to be free, fair, and credible but they actually are.”
On security, Atiku said: “I don’t think the army is generally doing enough. We have what I call fatigued leadership. they have been there far too long and there are no new ideas.”
Watch Video Below:
Comments