Tobias Sylvester
The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has expressed dissatisfaction with the challenges confronting Nigeria, saying that the same mistakes of previous administrations were being repeated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, November 19, 2018, The presidential candidate said Ezekwesili said Nigeria needed a leader like her to make the country realize its potential.
According to her, President Buhari is repeating the same mistakes made by previous administrations in the running of the country and urged Nigerians not to resign to low standards by voting for him or Atiku, a former vice president running on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). She said:
“Sometimes it is hard to believe Nigeria’s greatness in the midst of our daily struggles, and as we watch our country repeat the same mistakes over and over again. It is hard to remember the contributions our country has made for freedom and peace across the African continent.
“I cannot stand it when we choose to accept mediocrity or resign ourselves to lowly standards. Nigeria can do much better.
“I care about Nigeria and Nigerians enough to know that the back-to-back failed leadership has held us back for far too long, and if we do not take a stand and take our country back, they would still be here in years to come, holding back our children and their children. God forbid!”
Ezekwesili also assured Nigerians that she’ll lead an honest government that will be committed to delivering on promises made before attaining office, unlike the current government who went back on its promises.
“The APC campaigned in 2015 on a manifesto that propagated the doctrine of restructuring. President Buhari went along with it every step of the way because it is all about getting into power for him. He won and then began to renege on his promises, including on restructuring. He suddenly remembered all the reasons why ‘structure is not the problem’ with Nigeria.
“I want to reignite belief in Nigeria’s greatness by leading a government that would make clear promises to citizens and deliver on them, not like the current leadership which spent its first year in office denying all the promises it made to get into that office.”
She accused Buhari of placing a lesser value on the lives of Nigerians, warning that Nigerians needed to vote for a candidate who would take their well-being as a priority.
The former Vice-President of the World Bank explained that Nigeria’s current federal structure was not working and recommended a review. She said:
“Entire communities and even local government areas in this country have been driven into hunger and poverty, as their sources of livelihoods are completely wiped out due to insecurity. The value of a Nigerian life has been devalued and cheapened.
“The structure of a federation is its skeleton. A functional structure gives shape, support, and aids the movement of the federation. No wonder Nigeria is handicapped under this dysfunctional structure.”
“There was a time when the APC agreed on the need to restructure the federation and devolve more powers to the regions and states.”
