Former Senate President Bukola Saraki on Sunday submitted that it is the turn of the north-central to produce the President of Nigeria in 2023.
Saraki who spoke at a meeting with delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Minna, Niger state added that he is the candidate Nigeria needs.
He added that it would be history made if the north-central can produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
The former Kwara State Governor pointed out that Nigeria needs a bold, energetic, and dynamic president in 2023 and he checks all the boxes.
He promised to appoint more women and youths into his cabinet if he emerges as the next President of Nigeria.
Saraki promised that with him in power, banditry and kidnapping would become a thing of the past in Nigeria.
“Nigeria needs a president that is bold, energetic and dynamic; a president that can bring people together. I am the kind of president Nigeria needs. After I become president, there will be no more banditry and kidnapping in this country. I assure you that I will do more as president,” he said.
“I will include more women in my cabinet and make sure that my cabinet has youths as ministers of state.
“[The year] 2023 is the time of the north-central. We will make history to have a democratically-elected president from the zone. We can fix, rescue and rebuild the country.”
Speaking on the declaration by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Friday that he and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed have been selected as the northern consensus candidates for the PDP in the 2023 presidential race, the former senate president said it is a welcome development.
He said he has accepted the NEF position but each person has a choice to accept it or not, adding that the northern elders have done well.
“We voluntarily went to our elder statesmen to seek their participation. They did not seek or ask that they should be involved in it, and neither were we forced into doing it,” Saraki said.
“We decided on our own to go seek their involvement for a northern consensus candidate. For the decision, we appreciate our elder statesmen for their role in the process and their patriotism and desire for the unity of the country.
“To abide by the decision is an individual choice. Everyone has to make his own decision. With all humility, I have accepted the recommendations and recognized them and have decided to forge ahead.”
Speaking during the event, former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, passed a vote of confidence on Saraki declaring him as a person that can be relied upon.
“We need to articulate our positions and make our demands known. Saraki is a dependable person that we can rely on,” Aliyu said.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News