TheCable

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says if he wins the 2019 election, he will investigate the arms procurement of the current administration.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa on Saturday, Abubakar said it is taking too long to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents.

“Eight years after, Nigerian government is still fighting Boko Haram that are not professionally trained,” he said.

“I want to be the president of Nigeria because I would be able to do things I could not do as vice president. I will investigate how the government was unable to defeat Boko Haram for years. I will also investigate the procurement of arms bought by this administration.”

He also vowed to tackle corruption, accusing the government of Buhari of protecting some persons who ought to be prosecuted.

“If Nigerians can recall, we initiated the Economic and Financial (Crimes) Commission (EFCC). I’m the person that sourced for the takeoff funds for the EFCC,” he said.

“In this administration, there are people who are untouchable, they are doing things that are not in order but they are being shielded by the government. If elected Nigeria’s president, my administration will not spare anybody. When I was in power, none of my relatives or friends was found wanting.”

He said before he left the All Progressives Congress (APC), he warned Buhari that he would quit if the party was not restructured.

Abubakar resigned his membership of the ruling party in November and returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he served as the nation’s number two citizen for eight years.

He said after the 2015 election, he met Buhari and advised him on the running of his government but that the president failed to heed his warning or implement his advice.

“The APC started on a wrong footing after President Buhari assumed office,” Abubakar said.

“After 2015 general election, I met the president and told him the activities of the party had been crippled and there was a need for restructuring.

“Also, the way the government was being run; I made my suggestions but it seemed they were deemed not important to them. I said to him, if things continued like this, I will quit but Buhari  ignored it.”