From John Adams, Minna
As the race for the presidency ahead of the 2023 general election begins to gather momentum with the array of declarations by Nigerians seeking the mandate of Nigerians for the number of one position, All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain and former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Niger state Jonathan Vatsa has cautioned Nigerians over their choice of candidate in 2023, saying that age should be a determinant factor.
The APC stalwart warned Nigerians not to queue behind any presidential candidate who is above 60 years of age as the country is in dear need of a vibrant Nigerian with age still on his side to lead the country out of the current logjam of economic and security challenges.
The APC former publicity secretary in the state who was reacting to the ongoing declaration of interest to contest the presidency in 2023 by some Nigerians, in a statement in Minna on Thursday, said Nigerians can not afford to have another ‘sleeping president in 2023.’
‘As a Nigerian, I am quite disturbed by the some Nigerians who have signified their intention to contest the presidency in 2023, going by the age. I don’t think Nigerians can afford to have another sleeping president in 2023,’ he stated.
Vatsa said that voting for any Nigerian above 60 years of age as president in 2023 will amount to ‘going from fried Pam to fire,’ warning that age rather than money should be Nigerians guiding principle in electing the next president for the country.
According to him, the recent public admission by president Mohammadu Buhari that age was limiting his performance in office is enough for Nigerians to resist any money temptation to vote for any Nigerian that is above 60 years.
He argued that the current situation the country found itself could largely be attributed to the age of the president which has limited his capacity to cope with the challenges that come with the office.
He pointed out that any Nigerian who said the country was better than we met is not being fair to this country, seeding that ‘my fear is that we might leave the country worst than we met it.’
‘At all levels of government, nothing seems to be working, no food to eat and Nigerians can not sleep with their eyes closed because of security challenges, the situation is quite unfortunate,’ he added.
Regarding the forthcoming APC national convention, Vatsa said: ‘It is time bomb waiting to explode, the convention will either make or marred the party because of an array of political ambitions. I feared if the party can come out of this convention still intact.’