By Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has accepted accepted to run for presidency under the All Progressive Congress (APC)
The Minster who accepted the expression of interest form to become the President of the country in 2023 from the Project Nigeria Group, PNG, promised to run for all.
The group had polled resources together to purchase the 100m naira form and presented it to the minister who was elated to have been chosen to become the face of youths in the election.
Nwajiuba, in his acceptance speech said “they have gathered resources from every part of the country and purchased the form for which the APC will nominate a candidate to fly its flag in the presidential elections in February 2023, they have now presented this to me.
“I now solemnly accept to run for us all, and bear our party’s flag into the elections and become our next president.
“I do this recognising that in the last seven years, President Muhammadu Buhari has performed extraordinary feats in ensuring that our progressive ideas have been established.
“Both in physical infrastructure of every type and inclusive policies reaching out to our poor and less privileged as we strive to uplift Nigeria and Nigerians into a developed state”.
He said that in spite of the present administration’s efforts, a lot still needs to be done as many citizens are still outside hungry, unemployed and many more threatened by unwarranted and unnecessary internal security and economic challenges.
According to him, the call invites him to take up a work path that builds on the solid foundations that have been laid thus far, provide different paradigms for new challenges and provide the platform for a vista that accommodates subject experts to pull together forces to meet the Nation’s challenges and promised to tread the path as he has been properly schooled, experienced and tested in the last 30 years of active politics.
He also.gave financial autonomy as the only possible solution to ending the incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Mr. Nwajiuba noted that the impact of ASUU strike is really biting hard on Nigeria students saying that the federal government had continued to appeal to ASUU to seek redress to its means of payment on Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPIS) rather than the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to no avail.
He implored the union to reconsider its stance as they can achieve all their desires without going on strike and wondered why other universities not owned by the Federal government are also striking as they are not captured in the government’s pay roll which has been the cause of the strike.
Mr. Nwajiuba, also sad that he would be guided by the law of the country as regards resignation before participating in the 2023 general elections which requires that he resigns 30 days before the general election’.
“There are laid down guidelines as there is no one here who has the power to confer on any person when to resign or not.
“Nigeria’s law is a tested law on this issue and anyone who has a challenge on this can go to court on it,” he said.
Alhassan Aliyu, who represented North East youth in the PNG, said they chose the Minister to represent Nigeria youths in the presidency because they believe he has the capacity and strength to lead the country, and correct the anomalies.
For Ndubuisi Ugochukwu, also of the PNG, Nigeria youths have taken their destiny in their hands and chosen the best man for the job as the country needs a man with ideas, competence, and capacity especially one who speaks the language of technology and the new generation to pilot the affairs of the country hence they chose Nwajiuba.
Mr Ugochukwu said that youth in the six geo-political zones, religious and traditional institutions had consulted and came up with the choice of Mr Nwajiuba, who is detribalised to become the face of the new Nigeria youths.
Other speakers, Abubakar Seriki, Tanko Yusufu among others gave several reasons for believing strongly that Nigeria needs someone like Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba
