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Tag: Presidential Aspirant

  • 2023: I’m the most prepared presidential aspirant, Osinbajo declares

    2023: I’m the most prepared presidential aspirant, Osinbajo declares

    Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo has indicated that he’s the most prepared of all aspirants in the 2023 presidential race.

    Osinbajo made the submission on Thursday in Yenagoa when he paid a courtesy visit to the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers in continuation of his consultations ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

    The vice-president said he had the requisite experience needed to pilot the affairs of the country.

    “The chief objective of my coming is to formally let you know, in a domain where I am a chief, of my intention to run for the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I made the formal declaration on April 11.

    “All of us are aware, I have served as the vice-president and God helping us, I will serve until May 29, 2023 in that capacity.

    “It is my desire that come that day, I will succeed our current president as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “As vice-president, I have served under a president that has given me the opportunity to see for myself and observe at very close quarters, all that is required to run this very complex, very diverse nation, Nigeria.

    “I have also served on many occasions as acting president when the president was away.

    “All of that have given me more than an insider view of how to effectively run the affairs of this country with its various challenges.

    “I will say of all the contestants, and I will say so most humbly, clearly that I am the most prepared to hit the ground running.

    “I will be ready on the first day of the assignment because I have seven years training; I have the experience,’’ Osinbajo said.

    The vice-president said that in no distant time, he would have acquired eight years of experience as vice-president.

    He said he believed that the reason God gave him the opportunity was so that he could offer such services to the country when it was most required.

    “And I believe that those services are required even now.

    “I ask for your prayers and your support; I know that I have your good wishes already,’’ the vice-president said.

    Earlier, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Chairman, Traditional Rulers Council of Bayelsa State, welcomed the vice-president and acknowledged him as a traditional title holder in the state.

    The traditional ruler wished Osinbajo well on his pursuit and presented a book he authored – The Riddle of the Oil Thief – to the vice-president.

    “We have before us here the vice-president on a brief visit; as you all know; he is the ‘Ebidou Owei 1’ of Izon Land, our own chief.

    “Your other mission is well known; it is season for politicking; so, I won’t go into that but I will wish you the best in your endeavour.

    “Just to underscore the fact that Bayelsa is an oil hub; it has been producing oil for the past 70 years.

    “We have all kinds of issues about oil exploration and production.

    “I am not going to say much about it because I am presenting a book to you on that subject; it shall be of great interest to you,’’ the chairman of the traditional rulers told the vice-president.

  • Tinubu, Amaechi show example of politics without bitterness (PHOTOS)

    Tinubu, Amaechi show example of politics without bitterness (PHOTOS)

    Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a video of the presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, surfaced online, showing him and Transportation Minister, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi displaying an example of politics without bitterness as they bantered and exchanged jokes as curious onlookers watched In amazement.

    Amaechi and Tinubu, along with many other members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, are in a hot battle to get enough delegates voted to enhance their chances of emerging the Presidential candidate of their party, the APC.

    Until the rumoured entrance of Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, the duo, along with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, were the three front runners.
    The APC was understood to have also zoned its presidential candidate position to the South of Nigeria.

     

    The photos alongside video, was posted on Twitter by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on New Media, Jubril A. Gawat.

    See photos below:

     

     

  • Tinubu plans on tackling unstable power supply, banditry, others if elected as 2023 President

    Tinubu plans on tackling unstable power supply, banditry, others if elected as 2023 President

    All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has told youths in Lagos that with him at the helm of Nigeria’s affairs, challenges such as unstable power supply, banditry, ethnic bigotry would be eliminated.

     

    Seeking the support of Nigerian youths in his bid for the presidency, Tinubu, on Saturday, said he can change the story of the country for the better.

     

    In his words: “You must change the story of potential, the story of banditry, you must change the story of tribalism.

     

    “If YouTube alone has 2.9 billion people following it, including you all standing here, then Nigeria can excel.

     

    “We can do it. You must develop the ‘can do’ attitude. You must believe that this country is yours and you want to change the story,

     

    “Anybody who says we cannot, they can get out, because it is voluntary. We cannot continue the lamentation of the past.

     

    “We cannot continue with excuses of power failure. No nation can make rapid development without electricity.

     

    “Nigeria, it is about time. We have enough gas to fire up electricity and supply the rest of Europe and make money.

     

    “You know it. We don’t want to bore you with it. When I started, we used to pick dead bodies on the streets. But today, Lagos is one of the cleanest, most progressive states in the country.”

     

    Thousands of youths from the six Southwest states (Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo states) stormed the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Onikan, Lagos for a rally endorsing Tinubu’s aspiration.

     

    He told them to revalidate their permanent voter cards to enable them to vote in the 2023 elections.

     

    Tinubu described the youths as the brightest and urged them to team up with him in his bid to change the story of Nigeria for the youths and tomorrow which they represent.

     

    “We as a nation can conveniently feed ourselves by being creative, visionary and committed,” he said.

     

    Also addressing the rally organised by the Progressive Youth of South-West, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the youth would continue to be critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s socio-political development.

     

    He hailed the rally organisers and the attendees for the event, which he hoped would herald a new dawn in the 2023 polls.

     

    One of the speakers, Dr. Muritala Seriki, said Tinubu’s achievements in Lagos State during his tenure as governor bore eloquence to his ingenuity, hard work and commitment.

     

    A former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Bayo Onanuga, also pledged his support for the presidential ambition of the APC national leader.

     

    Onanuga reaffirmed his support while responding to claims that he had switched camps ahead of the 2023 election.

     

    He said he had known Tinubu for a long time and was part of his governorship campaign in 1998.

     

    Onanuga wrote: “My attention has been drawn to some lies being circulated about me as having jumped the Bola Ahmed Tinubu train and being against his presidential ambition.

     

    “The faceless writer, I guess a hatchet hand, wrote: ‘Almost all members of the Tinubu original power/intellectual base and allies when he was governor are not in support of his presidential ambition. Aregbesola, Afikuyomi, Ojudu, Onanuga, Alake, Fasola, etc. Most of them may work for PYO.

     

    “Let me correct this misrepresentation straightforwardly: the statement is far from the truth as far as I am concerned.

     

    “I am fully in support of Bola Tinubu. I am not in PYO’s camp and will not be in his camp if Tinubu is running.

     

    “People who know me will attest to the fact that I am ever loyal to my friends, loyal to a political cause. I have been on the political left since 1978 when I joined Awolowo’s UPN as a UNILAG student.

     

    “I am not a renegade. And I can vouch for Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Dele Alake as well.

     

    “The author of the rumour was merely writing conjectures on an issue that is unpredictable, a party’s primary election, where an outsider will only labour in vain in making permutations.

     

    “As far as I am concerned, and let me say it loud and clear, I am in support of Bola Tinubu’s ambition. I am not against him. He is my first choice, the second choice and the third choice for the exalted seat.

     

    “Nigeria is in need of a visionary, a deep thinker, a man with the Midas touch, who can take our country on a journey of prosperity. This country has suffered enough and really needs a new leader who can breathe fresh air in it and change the way things are done.

     

    “Nigeria needs a man of ideas, who will not just talk his way, but really get things done.

     

    “I have no doubt that Bola Tinubu is capable of this, which is why I support his campaign to lead Nigeria.

     

    “I have known him since 1992. I was part of his governorship campaign in 1998 before others were invited to his government after we won the election in January 1999.

     

    “I was close to his government for eight years and I bore witness to the innovations he brought into governance, the overhauling of the system that he carried out, some of which other states and the Federal Government had copied.

     

    “I have no iota of doubt that he will replicate the same at the centre, and even do more, if given the opportunity. These are the reasons I support his campaign. And Nigerians will hear more about my involvement in the next few days.”

  • Just as I need Nigeria, Nigeria needs me – Tinubu tells Lagos lawmakers

    Just as I need Nigeria, Nigeria needs me – Tinubu tells Lagos lawmakers

    “Just as I need Nigeria, Nigeria needs me,” said the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

     

    Tinubu, who is a presidential aspirant, stated this on Wednesday during a one-day forum organised by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, for serving Speakers and former Speakers and deputies in Ikeja GRA.

     

    According to him, he will be the courageous leader that Nigeria needs to tackle its challenges.

     

    At the event themed, ‘The legislature,changing times and Nigeria’s democratic journey,’ which was attended by 15 serving House of Assembly Speakers from APC-governed states, the presidential aspirant noted that he was the first state governor to grant autonomy to the House.

     

    He said, “We have the brilliance, the resources and the focus. We do not just know how to run the race and take care of the gear of progress. Nigeria needs drastic courageous changes that will bring revenue and I am that courageous one it needs. I was raised to be courageous and this has been working for me. I want to bring same to bear as president of Nigeria.”

     

    “In the face of tyranny, I have survived, struggled for democracy; I have endured the bush path, lived without a family, spent resources. To make Nigeria one is a task and who could do it? I am one. I am the first governor to grant autonomy to the House of Assembly. I survived non-allocation of local government funds. We didn’t suffer; we didn’t retrench. We made progress out of adversity.”

     

    Tinubu, who described himself as a thinker and a doer, posited that as a governor, he inherited N600m as Internally Generated Revenue with zero allocation from Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.

     

    “But we survived and today, Lagos is number one economy. That is why I am begging you to do me a favour so that I can do Nigeria a favour.

     

    “It is a very challenging time for us in the country and we need to decide the next leadership right. We need to intellectually assess the current situation, bring in a person with a clear vision and ability to deliver. Accelerated development of our country is all about thinking, doing and being courageous,” he added.

     

    Obasa described Tinubu as a talent hunter and the brain behind the legislative autonomy of the state.

     

    In his words: “I am standing here before you because Asiwaju is a talent hunter. He is someone that would support you, raise you to a point of leadership and give you room to excel. I can confirm that he is the brain behind the legislative autonomy that we enjoy today at the Lagos State House of Assembly and he did this far before the clamour for it by other states.”

     

    The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the forum was held as part of wide consultations embarked on by the APC leader in his bid to win the support of the party members across various backgrounds and camps.

     

    He stated, “It is not by chance that you all are gathered here today. It is because we agree totally that you all are important stakeholders that need to be engaged and identified with separately from others.

     

    “You are the real foot soldiers who can go back to the hallowed chambers and pass the message to all members of your respective Houses of Assembly and your former colleagues in the legislature across states.”

  • 2023: Saraki, other PDP presidential aspirants settle for consensus arrangement

    2023: Saraki, other PDP presidential aspirants settle for consensus arrangement

    At least four presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party say they will accept a consensus arrangement to position the party for victory in 2023.

    The aspirants made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on the outcome of their visit to Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia in his Umuobiakwa country home in Obingwa Local Government Area (LGA) on Tuesday.

    Speaking on behalf of other aspirants, the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said the decision was informed by their determination to make Nigeria better.

    He said that the lives and welfare of Nigerians were more important than the individual ambition of every aspirant.

    He said said: “Nigerians are going through hardship and insecurity.

    “These are the events that are happening in the country that make some of us to see that we are doing the right thing.

    “Let me reassure Nigerians that we are very determined and driven by the determination to make this country work.

    “If this is the sacrifice that we will make to turn things around in Nigeria, we want to let Nigerians know that we are willing to make it.”

    Saraki said that they were in Abia to seek the governor’s support to ensure that the consensus arrangement would work so that PDP would win the general elections.

    He further said that Ikpeazu’s encouraging words had inspired and further motivated them to move forward.

    Saraki said that this was the first time aspirants would come together on their own to adopt a consensus arrangement.

    He said that although the initiative was a tough challenge, they were convinced it would make Nigeria work.

    “We are heading for Enugu to see the governor of the state and by the time we have visited Enugu we would have completed the tour of the 19 PDP states and the governors have shown their support,” he said.

    Responding, Ikpeazu expressed delight over the development, saying that it had rekindled his hope in the emergence of a new Nigeria.

    He described the consensus arrangement as “a commendable and altruistic initiative”.

    He said it was borne out of the desire to forge an alliance to transform the nation.

    “I want to say that you have my commitment and cooperation to move on and I will do my bit to ensure that all of us come together.

    “The survival of our country, interest of the poor masses of the country should come before whatever personal agenda we have.

    “I am happy that Nigeria has patriots and leaders, who are capable of putting Nigeria first,” the governor said.

    He promised to support efforts aimed at uniting the party and helping it to present a common front during the upcoming elections.

    The aspirants included Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

  • Just In: Saraki joins league of presidential aspirants in 2023

    Just In: Saraki joins league of presidential aspirants in 2023

    Former Senate President and ex-Governor of Kwara State, Dr Bukola Saraki has joined the league of those seeking to take over President Muhammadu Buhari’s job in 2023.

    Saraki made this known via his verified tweeter handle where he responded to a clarion call for him to run for presidency.

    Hear him: “Earlier, I replied to a follower of mine on Twitter who like thousands of you has been clamouring for a united front to #RescueNigeria.

    “As we prepare for the journey ahead, I hope we can all join hands to get the ticket of our great party, PDP, and build a nation that works for all of us.

    “Join me to make our communities safer and provide real opportunities for you and your families. I have a strong record of delivering and experience in making tough decisions.

    “Let’s build a new Nigeria that works for EVERYONE!”

    His declaration is coming after the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Ebonyi Governor Dave Umahi, Senate Chip Whip Orji Kalu and former Imo Governor Rochas Okorocha declared similar interest.

    The former Kwara State Governor said he has a strong record of delivering and experience in making tough decisions.

    Saraki, born on December 19, 1962, is the son of Second Republic Senator, late Olusola Saraki.

    He was first elected into the Senate in 2011 and emerged Senate President in 2015.

  • 2023: Miyetti Allah denies endorsing Tinubu as preferred presidential aspirant

    2023: Miyetti Allah denies endorsing Tinubu as preferred presidential aspirant

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), says it has not endorsed Bola Ahmed Tinubu as their most preferred presidential aspirant for the 2023 General Elections.

    The National Secretary of MACBAN, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Ngelzarma said the association respects the aspirations of all presidential aspirants, although it is not yet time to single out an individual for support.

    He said “the attention of the MACBAN National Headquarters has been drawn to stories in the media claiming they have endorsed the presidential aspiration of Sen. Ahmed Tinubu.

    “We want to make it clear that the association has not endorsed any candidate.

    “Those who endorsed Tinubu are doing so as individuals, as MACBAN should not in any way be dragged into the politics of endorsement at this stage,” Ngelzarma said.

    Recalled that, the National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday, Jan. 10, formally informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his presidential ambition in 2023.

    Tinubu, who spoke after a closed-door meeting with Buhari at the State House, Abuja, said though he made his intention known to the president, he would continue to consult with Nigerians.

    He dismissed the assertion that ”a kingmaker cannot become a king”, saying he would like to take over from President Buhari in 2023 to continue with the good works of the ruling APC.

  • 2019: Presidential aspirant dumps party over N7.4m levy

    2019: Presidential aspirant dumps party over N7.4m levy

    A presidential aspirant on the platform of National Conscience Party (NCP), Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, on Monday renounced his membership of the party.

    Mr Ikubese told journalists in Akure, the Ondo State capital, that he was renouncing his membership as well as presidential aspiration on the platform of NCP, alleging unconstitutional acts on the part of the party’s leadership.

    He said the national chairman and secretary of the party were demanding N7.4 million from each aspirant, which according to him contradict its constitution.

    NCP was founded by the late legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi.

    “I am no longer NCP presidential aspirant due to the action of the national chairman and secretary of the party who mandated each aspirant to pay a sum of N7.4 million to secure the party’s ticket.

    “This is totally contradictory to the party’s constitution which stipulates that intending candidates of the party should run without paying a dime.

    “Majority are not happy with the way the party is being run. It is a total deviation from the dreams of the founding members,” he said.

    Mr Ikubese said no fewer than 12 different political parties have approached him to form a coalition in order to oust the ruling party from power.

    The 47- year-old politician said that the planned coalition would be able to create the dream of a new Nigeria.

    He added that Nigeria has enough resources to depend on for its optimal growth and development.

    However, the National Chairman of the party, Yunusa Tanko, in an interview denied the aspirant’s claim.

    Tanko said the party never asked any aspirant to pay for nomination or expression of interest forms.

    He said the party was merely raising money to sustain itself.

    The national chairman said Mr Ikubese had only contributed N2000.00 to the party since he became a member.