Atiku vows to bring back hope to stop young Nigerians from running abroad

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has promised to restore hope in the country to stop young Nigerians from fleeing the country at an alarming rate.

The high rate of Nigerians leaving the country, legally and illegally, has hit worrying heights for a number of years and appears to be worsening with dwindling economic opportunities.

While answering questions on his Twitter account (@atiku) on Thursday, January 24, 2019, Atiku, a former vice president, said Nigerians are leaving the country because there's no hope.

He promised to reverse the trend by growing the nation's economy if he's elected president.

He said, "Young Nigerians aren't just leaving Nigeria because of bad pay and working conditions - they are leaving because there is no hope.

"In the early 2000s, we witnessed a big influx of Nigerians coming home to work and build new businesses because they saw our policies brought growth.

"We will bring that hope back for ALL Nigerians by growing our economy to support better jobs, pay and work conditions."

The former vice president also promised to create jobs and decentralise the nation's revenue sources to combat the problem of over 90 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty.

"Our JOBS policy is fully focused on wealth creation and employment for all Nigerians, not just graduates," he said.

2019 presidential race

Even though the February 16 presidential election is expected to be a keen contest between Atiku and incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, of the APC, they both face competition from 70 other candidates.

Some of the other candidates include Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

Others are Tope Fasua of the Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Eunice Atuejide of the National Interest Party (NIP), Adesina Fagbenro-Byron of the Kowa Party (KP), Chike Ukaegbu of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), Hamza Al-Mustapha of the People's Party of Nigeria (PPN), Obadiah Mailafia of the African Democratic Congress (ADC),Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of Peoples Trust (PT) and many more.