Abuja – The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan said on Monday that he has all it takes to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari whose tenure comes to an end in May 2023.

“I am equipped. I have experience enough, I have what it takes to be Nigerian President after President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office,” Lawan said at Minna in Niger state while addresing the All Progressives Congress(APC) delegates from the state.

Lawan and his campaign team met the State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, the delegates to the upcoming APC Presidential primaries and later paid homage to the Emir of Minna, Dr Umar Farouq Bahago.

According to the statement released by Ahmad Lawan Presidential Campaign Organisation signed by Ola Awoniyi and made available to Peionews, Lawan solicited the votes of the delegates against the background of what he has to offer, his vast experience in governance and the stability that he brought to the parliament.

“For the last three years, I have been the Senate President. I have been able to work very well with all my colleagues regardless of their political parties.

“We have been able to make the Senate very stable, peaceful and very productive and today, we have been able to make so many laws because we are at peace.

“It is that type of stability, that type of peace, that kind of unity that I want to bring into the Villa by the Grace of God next year.

“I am running for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because of what I believe in. For me, mandate is service.

“Having served in the Legislature and having been working with Mr President as the Senate President, I therefore get close to governance, a very good participant in governance at the national level.

“I am equipped. I have experience enough, I have what it takes to be Nigerian President after President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office.

“At my age, and I’m a very young man. I’m only 63 years, in between the old and the new. I believe that I can carry the young. And the young is the centre piece of my policy.

“But first let me tell you what I want to do for us. Security. We all know that Niger state has been at the receiving end of insecurity and I know how hard our friend, our Governor has been working to secure the lives of the people of this state.

“The Federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has been doing a lot. We have conquered the Boko Haram in the north east. But we still have challenges in the northwest, in this part of north central.

“It is my intention to continue to work with our President to fight insecurity in every part of Nigeria until he finishes his tenure by the Grace of God on the 29th May, 2023.

“It is my intention to start to serve as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to build on the succeses that our President would achieve when he will leave office.

“I believe that we need to consider the architecture of our security system. I believe in citizens participation in security. You and I, report what you see to the relevant authourities.They say if you see something, say something. If you see bandits, inform the appropriate authourities.

“I want to see a situation where citizens who volunteer information are protected. I want to see a situation where our traditional rulers, the traditional Institutions play a role in securing our communities. They use to do it before. We can bring them back to do it. There is nothing more important to us today in Nigeria than security. That will be my priority.

“I also want to build on the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari on the economy of Nigeria. I believe that it is still not yet what we want but we are better than many countries.

“Finally, Niger state is an Agricultural state. I want a situation where at least every geo-political zone will have one crop that will be nurtured for production, for processing and for marketing.

“That is to say that it is not enough for us in Niger state to produce yam only. We should produce the yam, process the yam and sell with a higher value.I believe that this is one way to deal with the youth unemployment,” Lawan said.

In his response, Governor Sani Bello thanked the Senate President and his team for the visit.

“I think he has laid out his plans for Niger state for you delegates to consider. So that you give him your mandate to represent our party at the next presidential election.

“I don’t need to say much. You all heard when he started. He has been in the National Assembly since 1999. I don’t think anyone has broken that record yet in Nigeria,” Governor Bello said.

The Senate President was accompanied on the trip from Abuja by former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, Ambassador Sam Nkire, Navy Commodore Mohammed Barau, mni and Engineer Isa Ahmed.

Abuja – The Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, Bashir Ahmad has resigned his appointment.

His resignation is not unconnected with the president’s directive on Wednesday that members of his cabinet and political appointees seeking any elective position must resign.

The President had ordered that the ministers and other political appointees should submit their letters of resignation on or before Monday, May 16, 2022.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the disclosure in a chat with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.

A check on Ahmad’s Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon revealed that he has removed “Personal Assistant on New Media to @MBuhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” from his profile.

The former presidential aide now claims to be a ‘Digital Communication enthusiast’.

It was gathered that Ahmad resigned because he is seeking to represent Gaya, Ajingi and Albasu Federal Constituency of Kano State in the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former presidential aide is to challenge the current lawmaker, Mahmoud Abdullahi Gaya, who is also of the ruling APC.

Peionews recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari had yesterday during the Federal Executive Council meeting asked appointed aids with political ambition to turn in their resignation.

Abuja – Media Mogul and Chairman of Roots Television Nigeria, Dumebi Kachikwu, on Wednesday, officially declared his interest to contest for the office of President during the 2023 presidential election.

Apart from revealing that he will be running for office of President on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kachikwu, during a virtual broadcast, titled: “My Opening Argument” on Wednesday, vowed to initiate public service reforms, eliminate corruption and win war against terrorism.

He also promised to ensure that men and women enjoy equal opportunities, welfare for teachers, support technology-driven education and healthcare system to stop medical and education tourism abroad.

He also pledged to eliminate corruption by ensuring that Nigerian workers are paid better salaries, build modern cities and ensure that all nook and cranny of the country have better amenities, world class health facilities and accessible and affordable internet services.

He promised to redirect the vast energies of youths to productive venture like trading with their technological skills rather than engaging in online scams popularly called ‘yahoo yahoo.’

He said if elected President, he will collaborate with state governments to invest in power generation, build broadband internet infrastructure and limit states and private sector to distribution activities only.

Kachikwu outlined 20 reasons why he should be elected the next President of Nigeria, as follows:

1. A New Deal For Nigerians

“Together we can design a new menu for our people. We will rebuild Nigeria from the ground up and do away with the faulty and archaic colonial foundation that now characterises our current existence. We must define our common charter as Nigerians and constitute a new nation that is not only inclusive for all but guarantees equal rights and expressions to all irrespective of tribe, tongue and religion.
This new Nigeria must come first before any other identification. It will be our common bond as we do away with all colonial relics of division, mistrust and hatred.

“No longer will we engage based on Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba or North and South but on the basis of Nigeria, our only fatherland. We will resist all those who make religion and tribe their mantra. It will no longer be business as usual. We will zone out all proponents of zoning and usher in a Nigeria that promotes merit, character and knowhow above primordial sentiments.”

2. Make Merit A National Policy

“Every component part of Nigeria is blessed with those who have the talents and abilities to pilot the affairs of Nigeria and we must create the enabling environment for these people to emerge in government and governance. Nigeria will no longer be associated with mediocrity as we will invest in our citizens, our greatest asset. The toga of lazy youths won’t stand as we build the greatest workforce on earth. We must build a workforce that knows today and understands the demands and dictates of tomorrow. We can no longer be in conflict with what we don’t know as we make policy somersaults over modern age financial instruments like bitcoins.”

3. Make Government Accessible to all Citizens

“We cannot be seen to be banning and unbanning platforms like twitter that define the expression of the modern man. No longer will our citizenry be driven to the dark web and unconventional means of communications as they seek to hide from a repressive Government.
Government is and should be a big brother and not a big bully. Millions of our citizenry still live without light and potable water in the year 2022. This is unconscionable.”

4. Prioritise Generation and Distribution of Electric Power

“There is no rocket science to generating power, neither is there magic in distributing power. Our debilitating challenges are man-made and we must use an iron fist in crushing those whose decades of evil practice in our public service space have led us to the brink. We will treat those who sabotage our nation and way of life as saboteurs.”

5. Bar Public Servants from Foreign Medical Treatment, Education for Wards

“We can’t have different rules for different criminals. If you do the crime, you do the time. If given the privilege to lead you my first executive interface with the National Assembly will include a bill, I have dubbed the Nigerian Patriot Act. It is a bill of equality and fairness. It is a bill that says we are all in this together. It is a bill that ensures that public servants cannot use the privileges they cannot provide to the common man.

“If you desire to be in the public service, you must use the same services the masses use. No private or foreign schools for our families, no private or foreign hospitals for us or our families, no generators or boreholes in our homes. If we desire efficient and effective education, healthcare, utilities, etc we must make it available to all so that we may all equally benefit from it.”

6. Stop Incessant And unprofitable Borrowings by States, Federal Governments

“We must resist the wicked urge to take on sovereign debts that benefit a few but repaid by all. We can no longer borrow to build bridges and highways that lead nowhere when the internet is the highway of the future. Borrowings must satisfy the criteria of commercial viability while providing much needed basic amenities.”

7. Make Internet Broadband Available and Affordable

“We need governors who understand that the internet is the highway of the future. As you build roads you must build critical broadband infrastructure. We will make broadband available and affordable for all because this is the only leverage our kids have to compete in the new world.

8. Investment in Power and Telecoms Infrastructure

“I will work with the State Governors on a plan that sees the Federal Government investing in national trunks for power and telecoms while the state governments and private sector participants focus on in state distribution. We will harness all sources of energy to provide power to our people while giving preference to clean energies.”

9. Modernise Nigerian Cities With State of the Art Amenities

“We must replan our cities and build-out modern infrastructure so as to reverse the rural urban migration that threatens most of our communities. It makes no sense to allow the brain drain occasioned by the migration of the middle class when all they seek is security, jobs, good and affordable homes, healthcare, constant power, etc. I will make these a standard in all our cities.”

10. Transform Farming into Agribusiness

“Visionless leadership cannot continue to lead our people astray. We must elevate our millions of farmer to
agripreneurs and and transition farming to agribusiness. We will secure our farmlands and protect our men and women from those who seek to do them harm. Our farms will no longer be known as killing fields but the food factory of Africa, providing millions of good paying jobs for the middle class.”

11. Win War Against Terrorism, Banditry and Kidnapping

“For too long our people have cried. Men and women are being butchered, orphans and widows created by the minute by a war sustained by the greedy who profit from defence contracts and the blood thirsty, who seek to destroy our way of life. We will confront them headlong and destroy them. This war will be fought on our terms. We will arm all the willing and able to rid our nation of foreign invaders. We will take the fight to their camps as we arrest and prosecute their sponsors.

“We will no longer close one flank and leave another flank open for further incursions. The full might of the Nigerian army and the united will of the Nigerian people will confront our enemies. Our army will have clear instructions on what to do to the enemy. Our borders will be closed to all those who seek to harm us because we now know the enemy is the enemy irrespective of religion, tribe and tongue. War is war and Nigeria will win this war.”

12. Promote Sanctity and Dignity of Human Life

“My administration will revenge the lives of all soldiers and civilians killed. They will pay a huge price for their folly and be told in no uncertain terms that Nigeria is not a no man’s land. This is my promise. The sanctity and dignity of life will be restored under my watch. Ritual killings, trade in body parts and kidnappings have no place in civilised society. We will rid our forests of scam artists masquerading as native doctors who promise riches to the weak and lazy. We will protect our young men and women from these predators.”

13. Teach Youths How To Trade With the Internet Instead of ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ Scams

“I do understand that the APC government has succeeded in weaponizing poverty and hunger, but we mustn’t let our basic decency as human beings be eroded. If you can use the internet for Yahoo, you can use the internet to trade. We will guide you and teach you the rudiments of digital commerce. We will build technology parks in every senatorial district in Nigeria that will serve as incubation centres for digital jobs, research and development. We are an English-speaking nation and we will use this to our advantage to provide services to people all over the world from the comfort of our homes.”

14. Stop Brain Drain of Skilled Manpower

“We are the technology generation; technology will be used to leapfrog Nigeria from third world to developed nation. Nigerians are the brains and engine rooms of most nations why can’t they do the same here? No sensible nation allows their best and brightest to leave. We will reverse this ugly trend. Nigeria will work again for everyone.

15. Make Nigeria Waterfronts International Tourist Destination

“We will turn our hundreds of kilometres of beach front land to international tourist destinations providing jobs to our people and bringing much needed foreign exchange.

16. Build Modern Healthcare, Education Facilities

“We will build first class hospitals not just for our citizens but for foreigners desiring first class medical services. We will defend our future by sufficiently investing in education. If this generation has missed it, the next generation must get it right. We owe this to ourselves. Our schools will have modern teaching aids and learning systems and our kids equipped with smart devices. We will retrain all our teachers and pay them better because they are our first line of defence. Our women will join us on the table of equality. They will be respected and promoted. They will be afforded the same opportunities men have. If they can do it, they will do it.

17 Promote Arts, Music Industry

“The Arts won’t be mere lip service in my administration. It only makes sense that our movie and music industry are supported. They have made us proud and still make us proud. Investing in and promoting that industry is not only patriotic, but it also makes perfect business sense. The technology exists to correct their decades long problem of distribution and piracy. This we will do.”

18 Eliminate Corruption By Removing Predisposing Factors

“In this new Nigeria we won’t keep on shouting corruption when our very foundation is corrupt. We will engineer systems and processes that ensure that our citizens don’t turn to corruption by default. We will pay a fair pay for hard work. We will no longer cheat our citizens with the ridiculous minimum wage we offer knowing that we leave them no other option but to steal.

19. Why I want to be President

“My dear Nigerians, I have no money to share to you but my love I will give you. I will always lead in love and by example. I have told your story today because mine is not as important as yours. I am you and you are me. We mustn’t continue to recount the sorrows of yesterday. We will fight for today and defend tomorrow. This we can do. This we must do. This is why I am running for the office of President of Nigeria. It is the office of the Nigerian people. Under my presidency, this office will serve the Nigerian people. This is my promise to you. I need your support on this journey because without you I can’t do it. This is our collective fight. It is a generational fight for our today and the future of our children.

20. Cry For Help, Support

“The odds are heavily stacked against us. We don’t have instruments of coercion or oppression. We don’t have looted funds to buy votes. We don’t have mainstream media on our side. We don’t have the party structure of the APC or PDP but we have the peoples structure. I stand today on the wings and aspirations of over 215 million Nigerians. I represent your hopes and dreams of a Nigeria that works. It is possible and we will make it happen come 2023.

“Tell every man woman and child that Dumebi has come. Let the echo of Dumebi has come ring from every doorway. Go to the market places and tell them Dumebi has come. Dumebi has come is the cry of freedom. 2023 is our year of freedom. I love you all. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God bless you all.”

Abuja (Nigeria) – Three presidential aspirants under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday met in Bauchi and have agreed to achieve a consensus amongst them.

The three aspirant are the immediate past president of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki and Governors of Bauchi and Sokoto states, Senator Bala Mohammed and Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal respectively.

The trio while reaching the agreement said though each of them has indicated an interest in becoming the next President of Nigeria, but also believe this is the time to place the interest of millions of Nigerians above personal interest.

President of the 8th Senate, Bukola Saraki disclosed this on Sunday in a statement he released via his Facebook page.

The statement reads in full:

This afternoon, I was in Bauchi State to meet with my brothers, the Governors of Bauchi and Sokoto States, Sen. Bala Mohammed and Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to discuss the state of the nation and deliberate on what our joint response should be on the search for solutions as we approach 2023.

We agreed that our country is in a very dicey situation and that we should work together to provide good leadership. We believe that the ruling party which is so embroiled in crisis and is unable to manage its affairs, cannot effectively administer the country. Therefore, going forward, Nigerians are eagerly looking towards the PDP to bail out the country. We believe this is the time to place the interest of millions of Nigerians above personal interest.

Therefore, even though each of us has indicated an interest in becoming the next President of Nigeria, the three of us have resolved to achieve a consensus amongst us, as a first step, and then hold further discussions with others within the party. We will continue to update party members and the public on further developments as we hold more meetings. This is a process that we are determined to follow to a successful conclusion.

I thank my brothers, Governors Mohammed and Tambuwal for their patriotism and sincerity.

We will continue to give hope to our people and work in the interest of our dear country. May Allah help us.

Recall that Governor Bala Mohammed who declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election when he paid a visit to former President Goodluck Jonathan in company of Prof Udenta Udenta last month, assured Jonathan that he will only not contest if he (Jonathan) decides to contest under any political platform.

Political pundits are of the view that with the agreed consensus kick-started by these three aspirants and their intention to hold further discussions with other aspirants within the party, the PDP may in the final analysis, adopt consensus option as the best method to select flag-bearer in the 2023 general election.

Abuja – Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2019 general election and former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has written to political leaders in Nigeria informing that he will on Wednesday, 23rd March, 2022 declare formally for 2023 presidential race on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

His formal declaration is at the backdrop of wide consultations with all relevant stakeholders within and outside the party on his intention to contest.

In a letter which was sent to political leaders and sighted by newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, the declaration event has been slated for Wednesday, 23rd day of March, 2022 in Abuja at 11.00am.

The ex-Vice President is currently the leading presidential aspirant in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

The letter which was signed by the chairman, Technical Committee of the Atiku 2023 Presidential Project, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, reads in part:

“It is with great delight and respect that the Technical Committee, TEECOM cordially invites you to the official declaration for the Office of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2023 by His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, GCON, Wazirin Adamawa, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2007).

“The historic event will hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 11AM. Your presence will certainly add colour to the event as we expect your presence at the ceremony.”

It would be recalled that a few hours after the Office of the National Organizing Secretary of the PDP, commenced sale of nomination forms for all elective offices in the 2023 general election last week, a group, North-East Business Forum, stormed the party’s secretariat and obtained the Presidential expression of interest and nomination forms for the former Vice President at a combined sum of N40 million.

Peionews recalls that Atiku Abubakar who is well known across political parties as a master-political strategist and political heavyweight came a narrow second behind the incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari who won the 2019 presidential election.