Minister of State for Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba submitted his Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms at the weekend.
Tribune Online’s checks revealed that Honourable Nwajiuba was the first to pick the All Progressives Congress Presidential form ahead of its presidential convention. He was also the first to return the form.
Former lawmaker from Imo State who represented Nkwere Federal Constituency, Honourable Chidi Nwogu, submitted the form on behalf of the Education Minister.
Nwogu told newsmen that the seemingly intractable face off between the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, (ASUU) and the federal government was not the making of Honourable Nwajiuba and would not in any way undermine his chances, if he emerged as the standard bearer of the ruling APC.
Nwogu dismissed the ASUU strike as a Labour issue and said he was confident that the federal government would soon resolve the impasse for students to return to the classrooms.
He said: “The ASUU strike is not peculiar to Minister of State for Education, it’s a Labour issue and those things have been sorted out but it shouldn’t deprive him from doing what he wants to do. Good governance is not all about ASUU strike, there are also so many other areas he has gotten praises so, it’s not all about the ASUU strike but a lot of people are making it political.
“The president has assured that it will be resolved and I don’t have the capacity to talk about that. We are just supporters and we are just here to handover the forms.”
Hon Nwogu said the Minister of Education was not bothered about the number of aspirants for the APC Presidential ticket as he expressed confidence that given his age bracket and intellectual acumen, the party delegates would vote for him.
“It doesn’t matter, we are very confident that we have a candidate who is very clean and not corrupt. What the youths want is just a candidate of the old and the modern. A young candidate, intellectual and good capacity. We are very confident to win.”
Speculation is rife that former Minister of Agriculture under the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration and incumbent President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, may join the presidential race on the platform of the APC.
A party source told Tribune Online that friends and associates of the President of ADB might storm International Conference Centre, Abuja on Monday to pick form for Dr Adesina.
Further investigation revealed that last January, a group, Prudent Youth Association of Nigeria (PYAN) has urged Dr Akinwumi Adesina to join the race for 2023 presidential election.
Addressing newsmen, spokesman of the PYAN, Mr Haruna Awode said Adesina has outstanding qualities needed at the critical moment to address the myriad of problems confronting Nigeria as a nation.
The group said that as a former Minister of Agriculture and the incumbent president of AfDB, Adesina has not disappointed or failed the nation, especially the youths.
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