From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The immediate past President of the Senate and one of the presidential aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Bukola Saraki on Sunday said he was open to a consensus candidature arrangement of his party if that will bring about the desired unity within the party and Nigeria as a whole.
Saraki spoke to journalists in an interview shortly after he met with the former Kaduna State Governor and former chairman of the PDP, Sen Ahmed Makarfi at his Kaduna home as a part of the continuation of his consultation with PDP delegates and other party supporters across the country.
According to him, “on the possibility of our great party coming up with a consensus candidate, let be patient. We will get there. We are making progress and trying to keep the party to ensure that we have a process that unites us. We need all of us including those that are running and those that are not running to achieve the desired unity ahead of the 2023 elections.
“One of the most important things is to unite the country where everybody has a sense of belonging. Let Nigerians have a president that is for all of them. Unity is key when we talk of progress.
“Secondly we need capable hands to ensure accountability particularly on the issues of security and economy. We need an empathetic president, someone who feels for the people in Kaduna and the country as a whole.
“For example, how can you have a country where the access way to and from Kaduna is so dangerous that citizens are afraid to ply them?
“If I become the president, I will secure Kaduna. I will secure the Northwest. I will secure Nigeria. I will create jobs. Like I said, when I was a banker, I come here for business because textiles and other industries were working.
“The focus has to shift substantially from oil. We need to open up the non-oil sector for us to grow and provide jobs for unemployed Nigerians which is a part of the factors responsible for the security issue we are having today. But to do that, we need a president who knows how to go about that.
“Our consultation brought us to Kaduna today to see the delegates and other PDP supporters including my friend and brother, sen Ahmed Makarfi.
“This time around, PDP must present somebody with leadership capacity to be able to rescue Nigeria from where we are”, he said.