A coalition group, the Green Alliance, has asked the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to contest for the 2023 presidency, as his emergence would bridge the alleged marginalisation gap by a section of the country.
The group said for peace to reign, every section and region, must be given equal opportunity to lead the country, saying this would assuage agitation coming from any particular part of Nigeria.
The Convener, Wale Fapohunda, said since Emefiele was appointed as CBN governor, he has built “a resilient financial system that can serve the developmental needs of Nigeria’s economy.”
“During his first term, he supervised an interventionist currency policy at the behest of the Presidency, propping up the Naira by pumping billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market. He also introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to mask pressure on the Naira and avoid a series of devaluations,” he said.
Also, the presidential hopeful of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Imo State governor, Senator Rochas Owelle Okorocha, has said he is offering himself for the number one position.
Okorocha, who represents Imo West Senatorial District, said he had declared his intention to contest and become the next president and Commander–in–Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
He spoke, yesterday, at the inauguration of the coordinators of the local councils of Plateau in Jos.
Represented by the State Coordinator of Rochas Okorocha’s Presidential Campaign in Plateau, Umar Zuma, he said: “This is the people’s mandate. I choose to respond to Nigerians’ agitation calling for a credible alternative at this critical time to change the narrative and together, we shall build a new Nigeria…”
“We can’t mortgage the destiny of our great country and people too incompetent and unpatriotic leaders in 2023. We must move forward and go further with our country to compete with any developed nation in this 21st Century.”
“I know very much that Nigerians are worried and tired with where we are today, and how we have been retrogressing politically and even economically since the returned to democracy in 1999. This is the time to put things right. We need someone who is capable, detribalised, patriotic and have the political will to do the needful.
“I will not be a political party president or sectional or regional president, but the “president of the people, for the people by the people” where all Nigerians come first before any other thing.
“I am very optimistic that Nigeria will bounce back and take her place in Africa and the world at large under my leadership. I am ready and fully prepared for this great task, I know we are in the middle of the sea and I have the compass to re-direct our great ship back on track. Our industries, tourist sites, schools, hospitals, roads, government institutions and so on has gone into comatose, these will all be fixed and upgraded. I have the template to execute the people’s oriented mandate in Nigeria.”
Fapohunda continued: “Emefiele engineered bank policies and programmes that have supported job creation and fostered inclusive growth, in addition to key macroeconomic concerns such as inflation and exchange rate stability
“The CBN governor worked closely with the country’s fiscal authorities to ensure economic stability in Nigeria with its intervention in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“He also came up with new strategies to navigate the Nigerian economy through hurdles such as the challenge of foreign exchange inflow, the exchange rate, the economic recession, stagflation, financial inclusion and the rise in the value chain of the majority of crops in Nigeria.
He noted that though some people might challenge his choice on the basis that a sound understanding of economic policies alone “is not enough to run a country as diverse as Nigeria.”
Okorocha continued, “Our youths will not be relegated by my government because the engine room of every developed society is the youth. Enough of using our charismatic young men and women and dump them only to pick them when they are needed for a short time assignment. This will stop under my watch. All nations on earth are fully aware that the best brains are found in Nigeria and we must not allow them to be wasted.
“This is the time to engage our youths into meaningful activities and also build and empower our women politically, socially and economically, so that they will stand anywhere in the world.”
