Ezekwesili
Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the
presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria
(ACPN), 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, one day after flagging off her campaign,
Ezekwesili said Nigeria needed a leader like her to make the country
realise its potential.
She
warned Nigerians not to resign to low standards by voting opposition
parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party or All Progressives
Congress.
It
would be recalled that President Buhari had last week also warned
Nigerians against voting the PDP in the forthcoming presidential
elections, saying that any other party could produce the next
president but not the PDP.
Ezekwesili
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!”
She
assured Nigerians that she would fulfill her electoral promises,
adding that a situation where elected candidates deny their promises
was bad for Nigeria’s growth.
“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 added.
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 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.”
She
added, “There was a time when the APC agreed on the need to
restructure the federation and devolve more powers to the regions and
states.”
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