The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Thursday
made public his intention to run for president in the 2019 general election.
Saraki, who defected from All Progressives Congress
(APC) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last month, said he would run on the
platform of PDP.
The country's number three citizen, who made the
declaration in Abuja at a dialogue with youths and young aspirants of the PDP,
said he has decided to throw his hat in
the ring based on pressure from the
teeming Nigerian youths "who have asked me to run for president."
He enumerated several problems bedeviling Nigeria
presently to include unemployment, hunger, insecurity, lack of medical care,
lack of education, lack of economic growth, terrorism, kidnapping, communal and
farmers/herders clashes.
Saraki expreseed his readiness to tackle headlong
all the aforementioned challenges if elected president in February 2019.
According to him, this is an urgent task that
requires the concerted efforts "of each and every one of us."
He also painted a gory picture of an average
Nigerian citizen, saying: "If we look around today, what do we see? What
is the condition of our citizens? Where are we as a country? How are we
perceived locally and internationally? Why are we not making the expected
progress? Why are we not growing? There is no time to waste. The time is now,
to come together to stimulate growth in Nigeria, especially in the national
economy.”
To Saraki, "the choice we face in the
forthcoming elections is either to keep things as they are or make a radical
departure from the old ways. Let’s find a better way of doing things or keep
repeating the mistakes of the past or fix the problems or keep compounding them."
The Senate president went further to justify why he
is running as president stating that "it is with all these in mind, and
taking account of the challenges that I have outlined, that I have decided to
answer the call of Nigerian youths who have asked me to run for president.
"Accordingly, I hereby announce my intention
to run for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the
coming general election in 2019 on the platform of the PDP. I do so with the
firm conviction that I have what it takes to secure inclusive growth for
Nigeria and its people."
Saraki promised to run an all-inclusive government
devoid of tribalism or religious creed.
According to him, "My plan for Nigeria has
inclusion in all aspects of the country’s affairs as the central pillar. Every
citizen has the inalienable right to feel a sense of belonging, no matter their
background or creed or what part of the country they come from. No matter who
you vote for or what your convictions are, government must work for you."
In wooing the youths, he said their generation "does not
deserve to live in the poverty ‘capital of the world’.
"It is no longer an issue of how we got here,
but how do we get out of this situation? I promise you that I will lead the
fight and employ every God-given resource available to us in turning things
around. I am determined to grow Nigeria out of poverty. We will stimulate the
growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as one of the ways of energising
the economy and to create wealth for our people, especially the youths."
He emphasised that his government would actively
involve the youths from the local government to the federal level.
"I want to see the youths play major roles at
all levels, not only in government, but also in the private sector and indeed
in every area of Nigerian life. This will be a government driven by youthful
energy, innovation and a pioneering entrepreneurial spirit. Nigerian youths will
be given all the opportunities to realise their full potential within a
national framework that guarantees inclusiveness.”
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