Former governor of Kwara State now Senator representing Kwara Central, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has been urged to join the 2015 presidential race to provide dynamic leadership for the youths and the nation as a whole.
The call was made in Lagos Wednesday by leaders of a socio-political group known as New Nigeria Movement (NNM).
In a statement signed by Dr. Lekan Akinwunmi, Mr. Uche Ogbonna and Mallam Musa Abubakar, national president, secretary and director of publicity of the body respectively, the NNM said: “This call has become necessary following our rigorous assessment of Nigeria’s leaders across the country and party affiliations. Our conclusion is that Dr. Bukola Saraki, who has successfully served as a state governor for eight years and now a senator, best suits our search criteria. That is, he is a bridge between the old and the new generation of politicians; he is a bridge between the North and the South, he is a bridge between the executive and the legislature, he is a bridge between the private and public sectors and above all, he controls a large political network that cuts across the country with a generational foundation”.
The group said it would encourage the former Kwara governor to join the race, hence the need to go public with its call. The NNM leaders argued that they were convinced that Saraki would heed their call because of his love for Nigeria.
“We recall that Senator Saraki today represents the face of the young generation of Nigerian leaders asking for generational change in leadership. Because of his age, we are bold to say that he has been an influential state governor for eight years, chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum with an enviable foundation in the private sector and today a serving senator.
“He has been a dominant factor in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and he is now a formidable force in the major opposition party, the All Progressives Party (APC) that stands a good chance to form the next Federal Government”, the group said.
The statement also urged the leadership of APC not to see last weekend’s defeat of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State as a setback for progressive politics, but as a challenge to stand firm against the forces of oppression, intimidation and retrogression ahead of the general elections in 2015.
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