From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has declared that Nigeria needs a visionary leader like him for the country to overcome what he described as “its current mess”.
Saraki, a two term Governor of Kwara State, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has failed to provide solutions to the problems confronting the country, hence the need to vote the party out in 2023.
The Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spoke in Akure, the Ondo State capital while addressing members of the party ahead of the party’s presidential primary election.
Saraki said his presidency will be a bridge between the the north and the southern regions of the country and thereby called on the members of the PDP to vote for him in the party’s primary.
The former Governor hailed the northern elders for the consensus arrangements made within the PDP in the north, describing it as a good omen that signaled the victory of the party in the next general election.
He said: “The beauty is that the northern elders have spoken and I think we should go with that. The issue is ensuring that our party wins the 2023 general elections. I have a lot to offer and fix this country”.
The former governor who berated the present adminstration led by President Muhammadu Buhari said “we can only get out of this mess if we have leadership that is visionary and one that understands the country.
“The country we are today requires collective responsibility. No single man can make it work and the more we sit down and engage ourselves, the better,” he said.
He also appealed to stakeholders to be just, fair and unbiased in the emergence of candidates of the party.
“In my political career, I’ve shown and make sacrifices. Nigeria needs leadership that will provide employment and unite the country. Under my presidency, everybody will have access to free healthcare. When i was governor in Kwara state, I brought innovations.
“When I was the Senate President, we decided and singlehandedly passed a law that makes it compulsory for the provision for universal healthcare. No country can develop when when its citizens still use disposable income to pay for health services.
“The country has never been this disunited. We want a Nigeria president that will be for all of us”, Saraki added.
In their separate remarks, the state PDP Chairman, Fatai Adams, former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and governorship aspirant of Pthe PDP in the state, Eyitayo Jegede commended the presidential aspirant for coming to identify with the delegates and stakeholders of the party in the state.