Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has finally declared his intention to run for President ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Osinbajo made his intention known via videos shared on his verified Twitter handle in the early hours of Monday.
He said: “For the past seven years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in war and peace, and a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have, together, worked through some of the most difficult times in the history of our nation, but we have remained focused on securing the country, providing infrastructure and growing our economy. As stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution, our tenure will end next year.
“In this period of seven years, I have served the government in several capacities, and I have, at the direction of Mr. President, represented our country in sensitive high-level international engagements.
“I have been to practically all local governments in Nigeria. I have been in markets, factories, schools, and farms. I have been in agricultural, mining and oil-producing communities in the Delta, in Kebbi, Enugu, Borno; Rivers, Plateau and Ondo; and in all other States of the federation, listening to the diverse experiences and yearnings of our people.
He continued: “I have visited our gallant troops in the North East and our brothers and sisters in the IDP camps. I have felt the pain and anguish of victims of violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, flooding, fire and other disasters. I have been in the homes of many ordinary Nigerians in various parts of the country.
“I have sat with our techprenuers in Lagos, Edo, and Kaduna, with our Nollywood and Kannywood actors; with our musicians from Lagos, Onitsha and Kano. And I have spoken to small and large businesses.
“I stood where they stood and sat where they sat. I know their hopes, aspirations and fears; and I believe that in those hopes and aspirations are the seeds for the great Nigeria that we all desire.
“I believe that the very reason why the Almighty God gave me these experiences, these insights, and these opportunities, is that they must be put to the use of our country and its great people.
“This is why I am today, with utmost humility, formally declaring my intention to run for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, APC,” Osinbajo stated.
This is coming barely some hours after the Vice President met with the governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Osinbajo had met with the APC governors on Sunday night to seek their support for his presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 general election.
Osinbajo, a lawyer, politician and pastor, before now has been called by many support groups and individuals to run for the office of president in 2023.
The groups have been going round the country and sponsoring adverts in print and broadcast media urging the vice president to contest.
The Star had reported that the Vice President informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to run for President ahead of the 2023 general election.
READ ALSO: Why Nigerians want Osinbajo for 2023
Credibles sources disclosed Osinbajo told the President of his desire to take over from him at the expiration of his tenure in 2023 to consolidate the achievements they recorded since they took over from the opposition PDP in 2015.
With the declaration on Monday, the Vice President will struggle for the ticket of the ruling APC with the likes of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who had a few months ago visited the Presidential Villa, where he told Buhari of his intention to succeed him.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzo Kalu, and Senator Rochas Okorocha have all declared their interest in the presidency on the platform of the APC amid speculations that some aspirants from the North would soon join the race.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele and the Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, have been rumoured to be nursing presidential ambition ahead of the next year’s general election.
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