Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, appeared before the Presidential Screening Committee of the African Democratic Congress in Abuja on Wednesday.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Atiku, who is one of the leading aspirants for the ADC presidential ticket, arrived at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, for the exercise.
He is expected to contest the party’s ticket with a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and businessman and industrialist, Mohammed Hayatudeen.
Atiku was accompanied to the screening venue by some political allies and former public office holders.
They included a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; a former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal; a former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha; and a former Minister of Police Affairs, Maina Waziri.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the screening was more than a routine party process.
Shaibu said the former Vice-President used the opportunity to present his credentials, economic rescue blueprint and security action plan to the panel.
According to the statement, Atiku described the engagement as an opportunity to present a practical pathway for rescuing Nigeria from economic stagnation, mass unemployment, institutional drift and worsening insecurity.
“At this defining moment in our national life, Nigeria does not need experiments. It needs tested leadership, clarity of vision, and the courage to make difficult but necessary decisions in the national interest,” Atiku was quoted as saying.
Atiku reportedly told the panel that Nigeria could not continue on its current path, where families face hardship, businesses collapse under policy uncertainty, and investor confidence weakens.
He said his economic blueprint would focus on job creation, private sector expansion, fiscal discipline, stable macroeconomic management and restoring Nigeria as a destination for serious investment and sustainable growth.
On security, Atiku expressed concern over killings and abductions across the country. He said no responsible government should watch while citizens are attacked in their communities or abducted on highways, farms and in their homes.
The former Vice-President said his security plan would prioritise intelligence-led operations, stronger inter-agency coordination, decentralised security architecture and the political will to confront criminality.
The ADC had earlier scheduled the screening for the weekend, but later shifted the exercise over security concerns in parts of the North.