The
Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Tuesday formally declared his
interest in vying for the Presidential ticket of the All Progressives
Congress.
At a rally held at the Old
Parade Ground, in Abuja, the Presidential aspirant during the occasion,
cast aspersions on the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples
Democratic Party administration, describing it as incompetent.
He
observed that Nigerians were today exposed to unimaginable hardship
which, he said, was due to the failure of leadership at the highest
levels.
Kwankwaso noted that the
looting of public funds had gone on unabated because those saddled with
the responsibility of watching over the nation’s wealth were busy
stealing it.
He also expressed
sadness that the welfare of women and children as well as the most
vulnerable in society had not been given its pride of place in the
scheme of things.
The aspirant
commended Nigerian youths for being angry. He said anger in today’s
Nigeria was a virtue because those saddled with the responsibility of
providing a conducive atmosphere for citizens to achieve their life’s
goals had failed in their responsibilities.
The governor hailed the APC for being the only party which had internal democracy.
Kwankwaso
said, “The call to save our dear country has never been louder, clearer
and more unambiguous than now. Every facet of our national life is
deteriorating. Governance has been reduced to mediocrity, incompetence
and impunity. I have no doubt in my mind that this journey is
difficult.”
He also said no matter how difficult, the journey was worth embanking on because the nation was in dire need of salvation.
Kwankwaso
said should he get the job, he would concentrate on the restoration of
peace and security to the country by defeating the Boko Haram sect.
He
said, “Lives and properties of our citizens must be protected and
secured. Boko Haram and all forms of insurgency must be defeated. As a
government, we cannot afford to live in denial. Insecurity is escalating
at an alarming rate.
“Little wonder
rag-tag insurgents are taking over cities and towns in the North-East.
My experiences as Nigeria’s Defence Minister and as a Special Adviser on
war-torn Darfur and Somalia have shown me that securing a nation and
fighting and defeating armed insurgents is only achievable if the forces
are professionally mobilised, properly kitted and equipped, highly
spirited and correctly armed with intelligence and ammunition. My
experiences have shown me that technology must be deployed in addition
to mobilising and cultivating the support of local communities.”
The
aspirant said relegating the welfare of the Armed Forces and the
Nigerian Police Force to the background would only help in compounding
the phenomenon.
He maintained that
the APC as a party understood all these very well. That was why it was
requesting Nigerians to come together and vote for the party.
“Our
journey to economic prosperity will always be imperiled if the peace
and security of movements of persons and goods cannot be guaranteed.
Stopping these menaces does not require rocket science,” he added.
Kwankwaso also promised to give priority to the war against corruption by running a transparent and an all-inclusive government.
He
noted that the impunity with which corruption was being perpetrated,
promoted, and protected by the present PDP administration left no
patriotic Nigerian in doubt that the government was working deliberately
and with determination to impoverish Nigerians.
Nigerians, he said, had a duty to stop such people to save our country.
He
also promised to build strong institutions which would take on the
anti-graft war without minding whose ox is gored. He reeled out his
achievements in various public offices he had held and promised to do
better if given the chance.
He also promised to restore Nigeria’s global image through the overhaul of the nation’s foreign policy.
When
contacted, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji
Abdullahi Jalo, referred our correspondent to the party’s national
publicity secretary.
Calls put through to the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, were neither picked nor replied.
A response to a text message sent to him was being awaited as of the time of filing this report
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