JANUARY 16, 2018 – Former Cross River state governor, Donald Duke, on Sunday night, January 14 in Abuja has said that he will contest to become Nigeria next president in the 2019 general elections, Vanguard reports.
Duke who declared his interest at the 3rd Mike Omotosho Annual Lecture titled, “Mellinials as Protagonists in Nation Building,” promised to kick-start the process at the right circumstances.
He said: “I am entitled to run for the presidency of this country. I am entitled to it. Only on right circumstances I will aspire for it. I don’t shy away from responsibility, only the right circumstance, I will aspire for presidency of this country. I have what it takes to be president of this country.”
However the former governor, challenged the youths to fully participate in the electoral process by getting their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and sensitising others ahead of 2019 general election.
Duke said, “I hear young people say to me that why would there spend hours queuing and casting their votes when at the end their votes won’t count. And I tell that if their parents conceived them they never gave up on them considering the high mortality rate so why would there not take a chance in building this nation?
“We had young leadership at one stage or the other. Even in our first republic, besides the likes of Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, M. T. Mbu was in his twenties when he became a minister.
“Gowon was 30 when he became the head of state. It comes back to the disaster therein because most of them didn’t have experience in governance, which led us into war. We need the combination of both.
“What I think we should be doing is to a government that is youth friendly to provide opportunities because we need to groom the next set of leadership.”
The former governor, while rating the activities of the present administration, said, there was disconnection between President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet members, adding that: “The challenge we have today is the disconnect. That is the challenge of the governance today. Because if you speak with the folks in government, and I am been candid here.
I think we should stop to deceive ourselves here and stop all these political correctness. There is disconnecting between the president and even the ministers.”
He attributed the failure of governance on the lack of consequences for erring leaders which has given room for incompetence.
African Entertainment previously reported that Former Cross River state governor, Donald Duke, on Thursday, November 2, 2017, criticised President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for rejoicing over Nigeria’s ‘exit’ from recession.
This Day reports that Duke, who said he was broke, also advised the administration to work harder, stating that the masses were yet to feel the development.
Duke sounded a bleak warning that all is not well in Nigeria, despite the September news that the country was out of recession.
