Dr Nnamdi Onochie, an ex-Nigerian envoy to Algeria and the Philippines and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has harped on the urgent need for Nigerians to choose a technocrat instead of politicians to preside over the affairs of the nation.
Onochie, who last year disclosed his intention to run for president in the 2023 general election, spoke in a press statement forwarded to DAILY POST on Monday, noting that part of the current problems of Nigeria is the old orientation of the early older politicians who are used to doing things as usual, especially of benefiting in unusually high quantum for themselves, family and friends at the expense of the public populace.
“What is the difference between a technocrat and a politician? Why is it necessary to distinguish between the two categories? First, the politician is the one whose age-long occupation is the profession of engaging in the art of politics and the governance of a territorial entity. The technocrat is one who has gained immense knowledge of governance from outside of politics before getting into the governance of a territorial entity and is not as immersed and “contaminated” by acts or facts of very early politics. The high necessity for a technocrat as President in 2023 who is carrying or does not have baggage or dirt such as those,” he said.
Onochie further recalled and pointed out that the PDP suffered from such defects immediately after the 2015 elections, regretting that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government of Nigeria today has a far worse reputation.
He reiterated his promise to put Nigeria on the path of progress wherein the citizens would have access to basic amenities to enhance their socio-economic and Infrastructural welfare and the country at large.
