From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Wednesday in Abuja, formally declared interest to contest the 2023 presidential election as an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Fayemi, by his declaration, has joined the growing list of aspirants for the presidential ticket of the ruling party that include party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, among others.
Making the declaration at the Trancorp Hilton Abuja, the governor announced that he will fill the leadership vacuum apparently lacking in the country, promising to end impunity and decentralise government if elected.
He declared that having paid the price with the enviable political career he has built over the years, he is the best man for the job to take the country to greater heights.
“I offer myself to serve you as president. I will build bridges to unite Nigerians and take us to greater heights. I am a fully blooded Nigerian,” he said.
The chairman Nigeria Governors Forum further revealed that his focus, if elected, will be to scale up productivity, diversify the economy, and expand revenue mobilisation.”
Explaining how he intends to approach governance, the chairman Nigeria Governors Forum, said: “Impunity is a very serious issue. There are a number of dimensions to the impunity that is in our country. I always say something that as a leader it is not enough to be competent particularly in Nigeria. It’s also not enough to be committed and compassionate. What is also lacking in Nigeria is the leadership, the courage to do that what is right.”
“Some people consider themselves as principalities and people who believe that they are the owners of this country, and then do whatever they like. They also believe that the law can not catch up with them. We will not be arbitrary but we would be very very sneaky about upholding the rule of law, and access to justice to all Nigerians.
“There are different levels of impunity. We need to also make sure that we do not leave our people with the temptation to do the wrong thing under the guise of religion, culture, e.t.c. We must at all times be citizens advocate of citizens rights as well as responsibilities because when you have rights you also have responsibilities as a citizen of the country and we must uphold that.
“Impunity reigns because our justice system has been crippling and because the entire justice sector system in our country is problematic. If we look at the journey from the investigation of the crime, to the conviction of the crime you would have forgotten that the person actually committed the crime. I think swift delivery of justice, access to justice, and accountability in society are areas we need to pay attention to.
“We need to also support our judicial officers, so that we will not again tempt them to resort to other misbehaviour because the state has not taken on its own responsibility in terms of remuneration, in terms of support to the judicial officers,” he said.
On the mode of primaries he would prefer, he said: “The Constitution of the APC says that model of primaries can either be direct or indirect or consensus. We have an Electoral Act now that says for us to have consensus, all players must sign off. For me, yes, we have a lot of people who have expressed interest and I think we must commend the party for being so popular to attract this calibre of Nigerian offering their services to the country.”
“I think for me, Nigerians who also wants to field the polls for the president of Nigeria must be citizens of the country. I believe from all my travels around the country over the last one month, I believe both inside and outside the party, the sentiments will appear to be anything but consensus. That is because people want to have a say and don’t forget we have a president who has been an advocate for bottom-up political practices.
“President Buhari is known for his passion for every member of the party having a say in the decision that affects the party. So, in that sense, I have no problem stalking a claim to a primary process, whether it’s indirect or direct. I don’t have a problem with that,” he said.
Earlier in his declaration speech, he said: “Programmatically, as the standard bearer of the APC, I will be leading the implementation of a wholistic and integrated response to the multifaceted security crises confronting us. To this end, the retooling of our armed forces, intelligence agencies, and border guards will be pursued in tandem with an overhaul of our policing system and the phasing in of bold universal social policies that will enable us decisively to tackle poverty and upgrade human capital and security.
“In this perspective, the deliberate expansion of employment opportunities, youth entrepreneurship, skills development, and innovation, support to the weak and vulnerable such as we have done in Ekiti State for the elderly, and women’s socio-economic empowerment will be treated as just one dimension of our comprehensive response to the costly security crises that have destabilised us, as will the pursuit of broad welfare policies that are embedded into a new state-society bargain and the empowerment of citizens,” he said.