Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has advised
Nigerians not to elect an elderly person as their President in 2023.
Saraki said it would not augur well if Nigerians elect
another elderly person “that cannot really move” in the next year general
elections.
According to him, the nation needs a young leader who is
capable and competent.
Saraki spoke through his representatives, who were at the
secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State
capital.
Ahead of the PDP primary elections slated for May 28, the
five-man team led by Prince Olateru Olagbegi had met with delegates and leaders
of the party in Ogun, including a governorship aspirant, Ladi Adebutu and the
State Chairman, Sikirullahi Ogundele.
Olagbegi emphasised that Saraki, who is yet to clock 60, is
a better candidate for the 2023 presidential election, instead of the elders in
the race.
79-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari will complete his
second term on May 29, 2023.
Among the major contenders for the number one seat are
75-year-old former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a national leader of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who will be 70 on Tuesday, March
29.
While saying he holds nothing against old people, Olagbegi
said that the nation needs a leader that can be available anywhere across the
nation to supervise projects for proper execution.
“Bukola is just 59, this is someone anybody can relate with.
We need a President that will be able to move around the nation to supervise
projects for proper execution. We do not want a President that will be a lord
over us, not the one that will be geriatric.
“I don’t have anything against elderly people, but there are
times for things. Look at the Westerners and who are the ones governing them
today. Bill Clinton, George Bush (Jnr) and Barack Obama all became President when
they were in their 40s. Go to France and UK today, all of them have young
vibrant leaders.
“People do talk of Joe Biden, but we are not going to
compare Nigeria with America when it comes to processes and systems in place.
The Americans have their systems in place, so it’s not a big deal if they have
an elderly person like Joe Biden as President.
“In Nigeria, if we make a mistake and choose another elderly
person that cannot really move, then only God can help us,” he stated.
Speaking about zoning, Olagbebi maintained that Saraki can
equally claim to be a Southerner because his mother was a Princess of Owo in
Ondo State.
“Talking about zoning, Bukola Saraki’s mother was from Owo.
She’s a princess in the palace. Are you going to tell me Bukola is not from the
south?” he asked.
He, however, posited that choosing the man who would solve
Nigeria’s problems should not be based on zoning, ethnicity or religion.
In their separate remarks, Adebutu and Ogundele noted that
Saraki played a key role in resolving the internal crisis which almost tore
Ogun PDP apart.
“Saraki has done well for us in Ogun State as he was
instrumental to the unity of the party after long and protracted crisis,”
Ogundele said.
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