By JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Ahead of the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has officially declared his intention to contest for the presidency in 2023, even as he promised to decentralise governance if elected.
Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), expressed confidence of picking the APC presidential ticket either by direct or indirect primary.
Declaring publicly on Wednesday in Abuja, Fayemi said his entry into the race to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari will offer APC members and Nigerians the opportunity to examine competing visions for national rebirth in the best interest of our country.
“Compatriots, it is in the spirit of this abiding faith in our country and the promise of its unfinished greatness that I stand before you today, in total humility and with all sense of responsibility, to solemnly declare to all our party cadres and Nigerians at large, my decision to accept for my name to be put forward for consideration by the APC leadership and membership as the party’s standard bearer in the upcoming contest for a successor to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This is not a decision which I have taken lightly. Indeed, to arrive at this point, I carried out a a long and deep self-introspection with the help of close family, friends, and colleagues, including my wife and devoted partner, Erelu Bisi Fayemi. I have also traversed the length and breadth of our country to consult and explore with our esteemed elder statesmen and women, traditional rulers, a cross section of party leaders and rank and file members, and various non-partisan leaders of thought and opinion.
“And it is on the foundation of a clear vision accompanied by a carefully thought out programme of action that I present my candidature. I do so fully convinced on the basis of what I have experienced, heard, and seen about the demands of the times and the aspirations of our people that the agenda that I am proposing for our country is one which will find favour with APC members and win resounding traction with the generality of Nigerians.”
Speaking on his agenda for Nigeria, the former Minister of Mines and Steel proposed Integrated Security System to solve challenges of insecurity confronting the country.
“To give full effect to this, concrete programmes of action will be launched in priority areas that will allow for a revamping of the credibility of the Nigerian state, the promotion of an enhanced social contract, and the revamping of the national identity.
“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.”
Speaking on how to tackle impunity, Fayemi said Nigerian leaders lack courage to do what is right.
“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.
“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 conviction of the crime you would have forgotten that the person actually committed the crime.
“I think swift delivery of justice, access to justice, 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.”
On mode of primary election he will prefer, Fayemi said: “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.”