Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Ogbonaya Onu has declared his interest to run for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former governor of old Abia State called on the members of the All Progressive Congress, especially the delegates of the party to zero in on his suitability and chose him as the flag bearer of the party ahead of the 2023 election.
Onu said Nigeria can not develop without the implementation of science and technology in its national life hence especially now that the world is driven by science and technology.
The minister, who noted that the gradual implementation of science and technology policy has created over five million jobs in the last seven years, maintained that the discipline, diligence and focus associated with science and technology must be adopted in building Nigeria as a nation.
His words: “I most respectfully ask my political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to elect me as its Presidential Candidate, and the people of Nigeria to elect me as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for me to be the chief servant of the nation.”
The presidential aspirant pointed out that given the focus of the administration and his dispassionate supervision of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (FMST&I), has turned the ministry which was the dumping ground of civil servants being punished by other ministries.
He said after redirecting the ministry, ”Our agencies have made significant breakthroughs in monitoring our skies, as well as critical infrastructure ranging from roads, bridges, airports and seaports.
According to him: ”We now have the potential to monitor the integrity of, our bridges as well as the foundation of our roads. We continue to contribute in so many ways to help secure the nation.
“All these efforts have created over five million, six hundred and fifty thousand jobs between 2015 and 2021.
I believe that the purpose of Nigeria is to do for the black people of the world, what Japan did for the yellow people of the world.
“We must bring discipline into our nation, promote justice, fairness and equity and allow creativity to flourish. This way, Nigeria will become a nation that all Nigerians will be proud of and all other nations will respect.
“This is one way we can lead the way for all the black people of the world to rediscover themselves and be proud of themselves because they will always point to the great achievements of Nigeria.
“We will then have a new world, where all persons will have mutual respect for one another, because of individual achievements.
“My fellow Nigerians, we have the key to unlocking the prosperity of our dear nation, and this key is a knowledge economy driven by science, technology and innovation.
“This is so because no nation has ever become truly great, whether in ancient or modern times, without the efficient and effective deployment of science, technology and innovation to nation-building.
“I am convinced that I have the knowledge, the experience, the credibility, the education having been trained in one of the best universities in the world, the vision, the integrity, maturity and a man who can be trusted,” Onu said
The presidential aspirant said Nigeria must be a producing nation to rise above its present needs.
He said: ”We must emphasize those things that unite us more than those that divide us. We must as a nation start thinking big because we are big. Nigeria must be a producer nation instead of remaining a consumer nation.
“We must produce many of the things that we need and use as a people. We have all it takes to achieve this. It is by doing this that we can create wealth and enough jobs for our people, fight and defeat poverty, and create wealth and prosperity for our nation.
“Nigeria must be self-reliant. We can no longer continue to depend on other nations to solve our problems. We are better equipped to solve these problems ourselves.
“This is the road that we have to take, this is the road that science, technology and innovation will make possible for us to take. I have a dream that Nigeria will one day lead the world. Let no one tell us that it cannot be done because if we cannot achieve it, our children can’ the presidential aspirant stated.
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