From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Diaspora supporters of the presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chibuike Amaechi, have urged Nigerians to vote for a detribalised aspirant as president in the 2023 presidential election.
The supporters, who came under the platform, CRA Moveup Campaign Canada/USA, said because of their concerns about moving Nigeria forward, they believed that Amaechi is the most qualified for the office of president.
Executive Director of the group and a Canadian citizen of Ogoni extraction, Joe Korka-Waadah, who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, said the group took time to scrutinise the political records of all the presidential aspirants irrespective of their party affiliations, before arriving at Amaechi.
Korka-Waadah maintained that, apart from rising from the ranks of leadership, Amaechi has the capacity to rule the country and bring to the national level his wealth of experience.
He expressed: “Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is a very good leader. If you look at his antecedents to this day, you would see that he was the Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years. He was a speaker of all speakers in Nigeria.
Again, he was governor for eight years and look at his track record in all the sectors.
“Look at his performance at the national level as the Minister of Transportation. There’s been nobody like that in this whole country, that could have done things he has done in the transport sector. For instance, marine and rail transportation have received tremendous development. Having a man like that with such a vision is very remarkable.
“In APC, for example, it’s not as if there are no other presidential aspirants in that party, every aspirant in APC is capable to rule this country. But, he is the best among all. He appoints people who are capable. He doesn’t mind where you come from.
“If we are talking about insecurity in the country right now, here is a man (Amaechi), that governed Rivers State when it was even worse. That’s one of the reasons we support him.”
Korka-Waadah continued: “At this time, what we need is a leader that has the fear of God. We want a leader that understands the plights of Nigerians because he was there. That is why we are urging Nigerians to see him as being suitable for the position.”
According to him, politics in the country has reached another level where individuals with track records should be elected for development.
“We know he has done enough for the North and other parts of the country. Look at, most of the projects that he embarked on as a minister, he could have brought them to Rivers State. We can courageously say that Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is not tribalistic in any way.
“What we are saying is CRA has 23 years of experience (in political leadership). And he rose from the ranks. He has all it takes to rule this country. He conceptualised the ideas in the transportation sector and brought them to fruition. That is why, we, in the CRA Moveup Campaign Canada/USA, are saying that he should be given a higher responsibility.”