2023: Northern elders endorsement of consensus candidates based on equity, justice ― Saraki

Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said the decision of the northern elders to limit the number of aspirants from the region was based on equity, justice, and the need for inclusion of all.

Saraki who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, during his visit to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members ahead of the party’s primaries, described the decision as a welcome development.

He said: “The beauty is that the northern elders have spoken and I think we should go with that and face issues that are before us, which is, ensuring that our party win the 2023 general elections.”

He charged Nigerians to brace up to elect a president that could turn around the nation’s economy, saying the 2023 general election should be taken as the expected turning point for the nation.

The former Kwara State governor lamented over spates of killings, kidnappings, banditry and level of poverty in the country, saying Nigerians are suffering and needed an urgent solution to attention to save the situation.

According to him, “we can only get out of this mess, if we have leadership that is visionary, understands the issue and is courageous.

“The country we are today requires collective responsibility, no single man can make it work and the more we sit down and engage ourselves, the better.”

Saraki added that all Nigerians must join hands and all hands must be on deck to guarantee the party’s victory in next year’s elections.

“We must turn around and fix this country. What kind of president do we need. He must have the capacity, to understand the nation, and have economic capacity.

“We need a President who can unite the nation just like I united the Senate when I was the President of the red chamber.

“To secure the country, we need a president who is bold enough to combat the insurgents and other criminals. I will tackle security by employing state-of-the-art technology.

“Every Nigerian would access universal health insurance. This is basically a free and fair health service everyone should enjoy. We must improve our education system by paying our lecturers and providing adequate facilities. By doing this, we will produce employable graduates.

“Women would be engaged in different departments in my government, besides provision of special funds for women and youths to start off cottage businesses,” he said.

He, however, assured that his presidency will be a bridge between the North and the southern region of Nigeria.

“In my political career, I’ve shown and made sacrifices. Nigeria needs leadership that will provide employment and unite the country. Under my presidency, everybody will have access to free healthcare. When I was governor in Kwara State, I brought innovations.

“When I was the Senate President, we decided and singlehandedly passed a law that makes it compulsory for the provision of universal healthcare. No country can develop when its citizens still use disposable income to pay for health services.

“The country has never been this disunited. We want a Nigeria president that will be for all of us,” Saraki said.

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