Nigeria needs a courageous and business-conscious leader to tackle the security and economic challenges facing the country,
a presidential aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Bukola Saraki, has said.
Addressing PDP’s delegates in Asaba weekend ahead of the party’s national convention, the former Senate president stressed that the country needed to be fixed urgently from its failing state.
According to him, we cannot afford to make the mistake of not putting the right person because the insecurity that we are all suffering today in this country does not know tribe or religion.
He said “both northerners and southerners are suffering the poverty and insecurity; we have highest level of unemployment today at 33 per cent and cost of living is very high.
“With the numerous challenges facing our nation today, we need to find people who have the capacity to lead because leadership is key today in this country; you cannot give what you do not have.
“There are certain qualities that we need today from the next president, and if those qualities are what I have, let us do the right thing and support me.
“We need somebody who can unite Nigeria, who the youths and the old, North and South can be comfortable with.
“We need somebody who can bring investments, who the private sector would be comfortable with, somebody who would also have the courage to stand for what is right and take bold decisions when that time comes.”
Saraki added that the country needed a president that was business-friendly and understood the private sector and able to change the country’s mono-economy status.
“As you all know as entrepreneurs, money only goes to where it sees safety. A president or government that is business-friendly is what we need now, one who understands the private sector.
“I was happy today when I got in to the Asaba Airport and I looked and compared it to about a year ago; you can see the difference and the innovation of the governor in bringing that change.
“We need a president that is bold and courageous to take decisions. It is not going to be easy because the challenges ahead are enormous.
“Devolution of powers is so important; we must be able to restructure this country and give more powers to States.
“You need somebody who has the capacity to do that and you all know that to restructure you need constitutional amendments, so you need somebody with legislative experience that can unite this country.
“Somebody whether in the North or South that will be fair to all and you know that I am that person that can unite this country.
“When the party needed somebody to reconcile our party members, I was brought on board to chair the National Reconciliation Committee of our great party and today many states have come together because of the work we did.
“We need somebody that can bridge the gap between the young and the old. We need somebody that can create jobs and shore up employment and that can only be done through agriculture, through non-reliance on oil.
“I have stated this in my manifesto that within 24 months we will earn the same amount we are earning from 30 billion dollars from non-oil – whether it is gas or petrochemical, and unless we do that, if we continue to rely on oil we can’t get away from the current challenges.
“I am a great team player and we were able to hold the National Assembly together because we were able to carry everyone along,” he said.
The presidential hopeful told the delegates that Delta was a key state in the country, and that any aspirant that was serious needed the support of the state.
He commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his outstanding accomplishments in the health sector, saying that he would replicate Okowa’s antecedents in the country if elected.
“Currently, Nigeria’s Universal Health Coverage is at seven per cent. I promised in my manifesto that within 24 months, 50 per cent of Nigerians must be covered in the National Health Insurance.
“What Gov. Okowa is doing here in Delta is what is needed in the entire country and I have the capacity to do that because it is the right policy for the health sector,” he said.
In his remarks, Governor Okowa said that Nigerians were facing lots of issues ranging from insecurity and poverty to unemployment, adding that the country truly needed a leader who had what it takes to provide solutions to the myriads of problems bedevilling the country.
He congratulated Saraki for his role in the 8th Senate, describing him as a very bold and courageous leader who stood to defend the independence of the legislature.
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