Atiku rallies support for good governance, anti-corruption campaign

Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has reiterated the need for the mass media to be in the vanguard of the promotion of good governance and anti-corruption campaign.
The Turakin Adamawa made the charge while receiving the management staff of the Atiku Media Office at his Asokoro residence in Abuja on Monday on the twin purpose of felicitating with him ahead of his 70th birthday anniversary and the 10 years of the establishment of the Atiku Media Office.
The former Vice President, who recalled the role of the media in partnering with progressive-minded politicians to end military rule and dictatorship in the country, said that the fourth estate of the realm has a more entrenched role to play to ensure that democratic tenets remain intact and are not assailed by anti-democratic forces.
While acknowledging the pioneering role the Atiku Media Office has played in the past 10 years and continues to play in the promotion and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, the former Vice President, however, observed that the media office was a creation of necessity to challenge executive recklessness of that era.
He said: “When I created the Atiku Media Office in 2006, many people thought I was crazy.
“But I knew that I needed an institution to respond to the lies that were peddled about me by the same government that I served as the number two person.
“So, yours is an office that started off to challenge executive recklessness and a defender of democratic ideals.
“I am satisfied with the way you have carried out your mandate in the past 10 years.
“The Atiku Media Office has evolved to become a respectable media institution in Nigeria.
“But your mandate has also evolved beyond the promotion of Atiku Abubakar.
“I will urge you to continue to be a promoter and enabler of democracy, good governance and support anti-corruption initiatives, especially as being championed by the current administration.
“Many people don’t know how damaging bad governance and corruption can adversely affect the fortunes of a society and at the Atiku Media Office, it is your responsibility to work in concert with others to educate the people and defend these ideals at all times.”
Earlier in his address, the Coordinator of the Atiku Media Office, Mazi Paul Ibe, had paid tribute to Abubakar for his uncommon zeal in the promotion and sustenance of democracy and good governance in the country.
Ibe reminded Nigerians that the travails of Abubakar arose from his opposition to the ill-advised Third Term agenda.
Notwithstanding, Ibe noted that this apostle of politics of inclusion has continued to surpass his own benchmarks in every facet as his efforts continue to track humanity back on the path of sanity, through value-adding entrepreneurship and developmental philanthropy.
He said: “As we know and appreciate, the enigmatic Turakin Adamawa and former Vice President, founder of the acclaimed American University of Nigeria, Yola, founder of the Atiku Media Office and the resourceful man with the Midas touch in business and philanthropy, is a zero-to-hero statesman, whose cumulative attitude and sustained goodwill over time have extracted him from the multitude of men, and women, too, onto the enviable altitude of local and global attention, affection and recognition.”
In recognition of his immense contributions to communication for the promotion of democratic values and ethos for nation building, the APC chieftain was presented with the “Quintessential Pacesetter Award” by Ibe on behalf of the management and staff of the AMO.