Kwankwaso declares Presidential Ambition!

L-R: A former Governor of Kogi State, Abukakar Audu; Chief Audu Ogbeh; Kano State Governor, Musa
Kwankwaso; and Senator Bukar Abba, during the declaration of Kwankwaso to run for the 2015 presidential election at the old parade ground, in Abuja…on
Tuesday





The Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso,
on Tuesday formally declared his interest in
vying for the Presidential ticket of the All
Progressives Congress.
At a rally held at the Old Parade Ground, in
Abuja, the Presidential aspirant during the
occasion, cast aspersions on the President
Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic
Party administration, describing it as
incompetent.
He observed that Nigerians were today
exposed to unimaginable hardship which, he
said, was due to the failure of leadership at
the highest levels.
Kwankwaso noted that the looting of public
funds had gone on unabated because those
saddled with the responsibility of watching
over the nation’s wealth were busy stealing it.
He also expressed sadness that the welfare of
women and children as well as the most
vulnerable in society had not been given its
pride of place in the scheme of things.
The aspirant commended Nigerian youths for
being angry. He said anger in today’s Nigeria
was a virtue because those saddled with the
responsibility of providing a conducive
atmosphere for citizens to achieve their life’s
goals had failed in their responsibilities.
The governor hailed the APC for being the
only party which had internal democracy.
Kwankwaso said, “The call to save our dear
country has never been louder, clearer and
more unambiguous than now. Every facet of
our national life is deteriorating. Governance
has been reduced to mediocrity,
incompetence and impunity. I have no doubt
in my mind that this journey is difficult.”
He also said no matter how difficult, the
journey was worth embanking on because the
nation was in dire need of salvation.
Kwankwaso said should he get the job, he
would concentrate on the restoration of peace
and security to the country by defeating the
Boko Haram sect.
He said, “Lives and properties of our citizens
must be protected and secured. Boko Haram
and all forms of insurgency must be defeated.
As a government, we cannot afford to live in
denial. Insecurity is escalating at an alarming
rate.
“Little wonder rag-tag insurgents are taking
over cities and towns in the North-East. My
experiences as Nigeria’s Defence Minister
and as a Special Adviser on war-torn Darfur
and Somalia have shown me that securing a
nation and fighting and defeating armed
insurgents is only achievable if the forces are
professionally mobilised, properly kitted and
equipped, highly spirited and correctly armed
with intelligence and ammunition. My
experiences have shown me that technology
must be deployed in addition to mobilising
and cultivating the support of local
communities.”
The aspirant said relegating the welfare of the
Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police Force
to the background would only help in
compounding the phenomenon.
He maintained that the APC as a party
understood all these very well. That was why
it was requesting Nigerians to come together
and vote for the party.
“Our journey to economic prosperity will
always be imperiled if the peace and security
of movements of persons and goods cannot
be guaranteed. Stopping these menaces does
not require rocket science,” he added.
Kwankwaso also promised to give priority to
the war against corruption by running a
transparent and an all-inclusive government.
He noted that the impunity with which
corruption was being perpetrated, promoted,
and protected by the present PDP
administration left no patriotic Nigerian in
doubt that the government was working
deliberately and with determination to
impoverish Nigerians.
Nigerians, he said, had a duty to stop such
people to save our country.
He also promised to build strong institutions
which would take on the anti-graft war
without minding whose ox is gored. He reeled
out his achievements in various public offices
he had held and promised to do better if
given the chance.
He also promised to restore Nigeria’s global
image through the overhaul of the nation’s
foreign policy.
When contacted, the Deputy National
Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji
Abdullahi Jalo, referred our correspondent to
the party’s national publicity secretary.
Calls put through to the National Publicity
Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh,
were neither picked nor replied.
A response to a text message sent to him
was being awaited as of the time of filing this
report.