Makinde Confident PDP Will Get It Right In 2023
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said on Tuesday that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has better aspirants and would present a presidential candidate that will win the Presidency and salvage the country from the throes of economic woes and insecurity.
He added that the country has had a lot of issues under the APC government and that it was time Nigerians reject the party, saying there is a need for decency in government.
The governor stated at a meeting with the former governor of Kwara State and former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who was in Ibadan to meet with PDP delegates ahead of the party’s National Convention slated for later in the month.
Makinde, who described Saraki as a good presidential material with a clear understanding of the issues of government, said the least of the PDP presidential aspirants is better than the best APC has to offer.
He said: “If we take you anywhere in the world, you are presidential material. You have a clear understanding of the issues of government. Many believe that in PDP, the least of our aspirants is better than the best APC wants to offer.
“In the next 10 days, we have to take a very serious decision for our party and the country as well. I don’t have any doubt that we will get it right this time around.
“They say 24 hours is a long time in politics. So, we have to keep striving, pulling everybody together such that we can narrow the field and go to the presidential convention as a united family.”
Speaking further, the governor berated the APC-controlled National Assembly for making laws that make the electoral process unstable, saying he hoped that President Muhammadu Buhari would ascent to the latest amendment to ensure that statutory delegates vote in party primaries, before the commencement of the House of Assembly primaries.
“You mentioned that I am a super-delegate to the convention but that may not be with the situation that the APC National Assembly has put us into. They have modified the Electoral Act and sent it to the president and I am not aware that the President has assented to that. And if it is not assented to, even the president himself, all the governors and all those claiming they are statutory delegates will not be able to vote.
“That is the implication of what they have done. We may have a situation whereby the presidential candidate will be determined by only the elected national delegates; only 774 throughout this country.
“We also have the issue of section 84(12). They got a judgment in Abia, which has been set aside, and the Attorney General of the Federation has, again, go to the Supreme Court for an interpretation. Is it a conflict between the Federal Government and the states?
“So, we have a lot of issues with this APC contraption and Nigerians had better look and say ‘no more.’ We need decency in government. Most of these things are pretty straightforward but why are they giving the entire country a runaround? Why are they deliberately making the electoral process unstable?”
Speaking earlier, Saraki said Nigeria is in its defining moment and that it needs a president that knows the issue, can be a team player and can connect with the youths and bring to bear the private sector experience.
The former Senate President explained that he represents the kind of president that Nigeria needs at this moment, having gained experience in the private sector and also served in government at both executive and legislative arms, rising to become chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Senate President.
Saraki said: “Your Excellency, I thank you for making time because I know this is a very busy day for you. You were at the programme with the pensioners and you are going to commission a project today.
“I don’t have much to say here because by your pedigree, by your background, by your capacity and knowledge, based on where you come from; the private sector, you understand the issues; you know we are in a defining moment in this country. You know that this country now requires a particular type of leadership.
“ There are certain things we must see in a person and I have confidence in you because I know your capacity and the people of Oyo state are benefiting from it. When you came in, they did not give you much of a chance saying you were coming from the private sector but see what you have done to the state.
“So if you look at all the aspirants and ask who is closer to you the way you are? Who has come from the private sector like you? Who has the knowledge of the issues at hand? To lead this country, you must also be a team player because the country is so disunited. To lead this country, as they say, you must be a bridge across the North and South because all these talks in the party about zoning; let it go to the North or South, now the party has thrown it open, who best fits that the North and South will not feel they have lost out?
“I believe I best represent that person. The youth that represents over 70 per cent of our population is yearning for a person that they can connect with and that is why they are connecting with you in Oyo state. Let us have a president like you, that can also connect with the youth at the national level.
Saraki cited issues of religion across the country., stating that the country needs someone who can bring unity in this country and revitalise the economy.
“Your Excellency, being a Governor in the last four years, the revenues in the country have dropped so badly. A government that is spending over 80 per cent on service loans cannot bring infrastructural development.”
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