Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, says his planned engagement with policy and institutional stakeholders in the United States will centre on Nigeria’s worsening security, economic, and governance challenges.

His Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, disclosed this in a statement shared on his X handle on Sunday, noting that the former Vice President intends to draw international attention to what he described as a deepening national crisis.

Atiku, who served as Vice President between 1999 and 2007, said Nigeria is currently grappling with widespread insecurity, including persistent violence in the North-West, North-East, and parts of the Middle Belt, alongside rising cases of kidnapping and criminal activity across the country.

He warned that the situation reflects a systemic breakdown in governance, arguing that the state is increasingly struggling to fulfil its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property.

According to him, communities are being displaced, livelihoods destroyed, and citizens left vulnerable amid escalating insecurity.

Atiku also raised concerns over the country’s economic conditions, citing rising inflation, currency depreciation, and declining purchasing power, which he said have placed severe hardship on Nigerians.

He attributed the situation to policy inconsistency and lack of clear economic direction, adding that public confidence in governance is weakening.

On democratic governance, the former Vice President expressed concern about declining trust in institutions and warned that any attempt to undermine electoral integrity in the upcoming election cycle could further threaten national stability.

Responding to possible criticism of his international engagements, Atiku maintained that discussing Nigeria’s challenges abroad does not amount to unpatriotic behaviour, insisting that global engagement is necessary given the country’s strategic importance.

He also urged the current administration to urgently reassess its priorities, strengthen public trust, and adopt clearer strategies to address insecurity and economic decline.

Atiku further called on Nigerians to remain vigilant and actively demand accountability, stressing that meaningful change must come from within the country.

He concluded that Nigeria is at a critical turning point, warning that the nation must either confront its challenges decisively or risk further instability.

Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has confirmed his resignation from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

He blamed his exit on the deepening internal crises and a hostile political environment.

Obi made the disclosure in a personal statement on Sunday, on his X platform, where he reflected on what he described as the “toxic” nature of Nigeria’s political space and the pressures faced by public figures.

He clarified that his decision was not due to any personal grievances with key leaders of the party, including its National Chairman, David Mark, or former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, whom he said he continued to respect.

According to him, his exit was driven by recurring internal conflicts and external pressures that he said were beginning to mirror the challenges he previously encountered in the Labour Party.

His full speech below:

“Fellow Nigerians,

I woke up this morning after my church service with a deeply reflective heart, and despite every constraint, I felt compelled to share these thoughts with you.

Many people do not truly understand the silent pains some of us carry daily—the private struggles, emotional burdens, and quiet battles we face while trying to survive and serve sincerely in difficult circumstances.

We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the very system that should protect and create opportunities for decent living often works against the people—a society where intimidation, insecurity, endless scrutiny, and discouragement have become normal.

More painful is when some of those you associate with, believing you would find understanding and solidarity among them, become part of the pressure you face. Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism.

We live in a society where humility is mistaken for weakness, respect is seen as a lack of courage, and compassion is treated as foolishness—a system where treating people equally is questioned simply because you refuse to worship status, tribe, class, or power.

Personally, I have never looked down on anyone except to uplift them. I have never used privilege, position, or resources to oppress others, intimidate the weak, or make people feel small. To me, leadership has always been about service, sacrifice, and helping others rise.

Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them.

However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building.

Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding, as though honest contribution has become a favour being tolerated rather than appreciated.

And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned. Despite all your efforts to continue working for a better Nigeria and engaging people with sincerity and goodwill, those who do not wish you well continue to attack your character and question your intentions.

There are moments I ask God in prayer: Why is doing the right thing often misconstrued as wrongdoing in our country? Why is integrity not valued? Why is the prudent management of resources, especially when invested in critical areas like education and healthcare, wrongly labelled as stinginess? Why are humility and obedience to the rule of law often taken to be weakness rather than discipline?

Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from.

Yet, despite everything, I remain resolute. I firmly believe that Nigeria can still become a country with competent leadership based on justice, compassion, and equal opportunity for all.

…Donates N102m for Mbah’s nomination form

…Mbah flags off 52.2km Nguru – Lejja – Aku – Akpakume Nze – Egede – Affa – Eke Road, others

…Vows to transform Nsukka zone into an economic engine

…Promises seed money to Ogige traders

…Trashes opponents’ one-term promise as ‘counter-intuitive’

Leaders, stakeholders, and people of Enugu North Senatorial District (Nsukka Zone) have endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for a second term in office, citing measurable realities and numerous outcomes of their governments.

The zone, comprising six of the 17 local government areas of Enugu State – Nsukka, Igboeze North, Igboeze South, Udenu, Uzo Uwani, and Igbo Etiti – also presented a cheque for the sum of N102 million for Mbah’s reelection nomination form.

They said the Tinubu and Mbah administrations had made unprecedented positive contributions to the growth and development of the zone, listing critical infrastructural transformations and Prof. Simon Ortunaya’s appointment as the first indigenous Vice Chancellor 65 years after the founding of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

This was even as Governor Mbah officially flagged off several road projects totaling about 70km, including the 52.2km Nguru – Lejja – Aku – Akpakume Nze – Egede – Affa – Eke road, and vowed to transform the zone into an economic engine.

Mbah equally promised to support Ogige Market traders with seed money to stabilise their businesses after the remodeling, reiterating that his earlier intervention was with the best intentions to prevent avoidable tragedies.

Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai; former governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Chairman, Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Samuel Asadu; Chairman of the rally organising committee, Chief Ikeje Asogwa; thought leaders, youths, and women groups declared their total support for Tinubu and Mbah during a mega endorsement rally at Nsukka Township Stadium on Saturday.

In an endorsement proceeding presided over by former federal legislator, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, the people unanimously endorsed the President, observing that with the President’s partnership with Mbah, “we who were once far off have been brought near and integrated into the mainstream of the Nigerian project, with all its benefits.”

This was sequel to a motion proposed by the House Member representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Dennis Agbo, and seconded by Hon. Mark Obetta (Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency).

Hon. Agbo listed the resumed funding and ongoing construction of the Oturkpo – Obollo Afor – 9th Mile Enugu Expressway, Enugu – Port Harcourt dual carriageway, expedited work on the Enugu – Onitsha Federal Expressway, the successful concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, the creation of the South East Development Commission, and the recent promise to accelerate work on the Port Harcourt – Enugu rail line as part of the grounds for Tinubu’s endorsement.

Former Governor of Enugu State and Nigerian Ambassador to Greece, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi at the rally

“Oha Nsukka also noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made it possible for our state to be connected to the National Gas Grid to unleash our buoyant gas resources and ultimately confirm our status as an oil-producing state for full derivation advantage,” he said.

They added that Tinubu had addressed the decades of marginalisation and exclusion suffered by the South East by appointing several sons of Enugu State and Nsukka into prominent positions Ndigbo were hitherto excluded from.

“Our brother, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, is the current Chief of the Air Staff. Major General Evaristus Ifeanvi Okoro is the current Military Secretary (Army). Major General Valentine Okoro is the current Head of Training (Army). Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla (Rtd.) is the immediate past Chief of the Naval Staff, while Mr Frank Mbah just retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police.

“Others have been appointed and are serving in federal MDAs, including Mr Peter Eze, Engr. Ogboo Asogwa, Engr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede,” he stated.

Also, the Deputy Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Ezenta Ezeani, in another motion seconded by Hon. Chukwuma Ekwueme (Uzo-Uwani State Constituency), observed that Mbah had “demonstrated uncommon leadership, improved security architecture, and massive infrastructural transformation across urban and rural communities.”

He listed critical infrastructure such as the ongoing dualisation of the Enugu – Opi Nsukka Road, upgrade of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) at Igbo-Eno, 102 of the 260 Smart Green Schools, and 102 of the 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres, among other interventions by Mbah.

“These are not promises. These are visible, measurable realities. Leadership is not judged just by intentions, but by outcomes. And when a leader delivers, continuity becomes not just desirable, but necessary. Interrupting it now would be like abandoning a harvest halfway through the season,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Mbah, who described the turnout as massive, commended the people for endorsing Tinubu, stressing that gratitude is the mother of all virtues.

“Let me take you three years back. You told us you wanted your own as the Vice Chancellor of UNN. So, your endorsement of the President matters because he was the leader who broke this 65-year-old jinx. That is why January 2027 matters,” he declared.

Mbah said he was on course to transforming Nsukka into an economic engine and a viable education centre capable of retaining her products.

He reassured that the dualisation of the Enugu – Ugwogo Nike – Opi Nsukka Road, the major artery into Enugu North and a gateway into northern Nigeria, would be commissioned by October 2026.

According to him, the projects are part of a larger strategy to move Enugu from a $4 billion economy to a $30 billion economic powerhouse within eight years.

“Let me tell you what to expect in the next four years. We are going to move Nsukka from being just a large district on the map to the engine of the new enormous economy.

“We have concluded the feasibility studies, and we are soon going to start the construction of a 135.5km rail line. It is going to integrate the state’s economy and ease the movement of goods and services.

“It will cover several parts of Enugu, including Ugwuoba, 9th Mile, Enugu City, Nsukka, and Obollo Afor,” he said.

He said that impossibilities did not exist as far as his administration was concerned.

“You know the typical thing is that when we made promises, we were almost always scoffed at by skeptics. We were told this was overambition, this is not possible. But I think we have proven skeptics wrong. We have shown that impossibility does not exist in our dictionary. Where there is a will, there is a way,” Mbah asserted.

He, however, stated that his government had determined from the outset to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn, “but not at the expense of our humanity.”

He took time to explain that the steps he took on Ogige Market, Nsukka, were borne out of genuine concern and the need to prevent avoidable human tragedies in emergency situations, stressing that “it is extremely important that you know that everything we do, the people are the centrepiece of it. It is not about posturing and not about politics.”

“I know we were misunderstood when we undertook to remodel the Ogige Market. But imagine what it would have looked like if I transformed Ogbete or Holy Ghost with two modern terminals – the interstate terminal and the intrastate terminal – and I did nothing about Ogige Market. How could that have been interpreted?

“We saw Ogige Market as a keg of gunpowder. We were sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
If we did not do anything and we had an emergency situation in that market, questions would have been asked if we had government in this state because there was no way we would have moved emergency interventions into the market.

“But you may already have noticed that we just started doing some shops there to bring back those people who were affected. And we are also going to give those directly affected seed capital to restart their trades,” he stated to loud applause.

Mbah, however, did not conclude without pooh-poohing political detractors, who refer to him derisively as a potential “one-term governor” while simultaneously campaigning for a single term for themselves.

“Someone said to me, ‘you are only going to be a one-term governor.’ Then the same person turns around and tells Ndi Enugu, ‘give me a chance, I am only going to serve one term.’

“Is it not counter-intuitive? Can you diminish one-term government and then come to lie to the people to give you one term?” he queried.

“Enugu is at the brink of a historic turning point. Enugu’s profile is rising. Enugu is that model of good governance in the country today. And, please, do not let anyone steal what trust has built,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Mbah has described the 52.2km Nguru – Lejja – Aku – Akpakume – Nze – Egede – Affa – Eke road as a major economic enabler and corridor.
Flagging off the project earlier, he said, “There is no better enabler or key enabler than roads that will connect communities and connect people to opportunities. That is what we are doing. The stretch of this road is 52.2km, but if you then add the other roads like Amachara to Barracks, from Mechanic Village, and many others like that, we are doing about 70 kilometers,” he stated.

Other speakers at the Nsukka Zone mega rally include the Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Engr. Jude Asogwa; Chairman, Organising Committee, Chief Ikeje Asogwa; former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Dr. Dan Shere; Patron, City Boy Movement, Chief Charles Mbah; APC Zonal Woman Leader, Dr. Oby Ajih; former Speaker, Hon. Eugene Odoh; CEO of Ferotex Construction Company Limited, Engr. Festus Oshaba; Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu; and APC chieftain, Chief Vita Abbah.