“So, we need to begin a consensus together. That is what Atiku Abubakar stands for. The only man who seems to have that depth of knowledge to take us out of where we are is Atiku Abubakar. ”

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Delta State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Friday, said with the challenges bedeviling the country, only experienced hands should be elected to steer the affairs of the country in the 2023 presidential election.

Okowa, who described the country as being in a fractured state, stated that the problems facing the country would overwhelm Buhari’s successor if he is inexperienced. He added that the next Nigerian president should be someone who could salvage the country

The governor spoke at an event organised by Green Assembly Initiative, to mark the 2022 International Youths Day in Abuja.

He said, “The way we look at what is going on today in Nigeria, there are loads of problems. And if we do not elect the right person, we’ll find ourselves getting somebody who will get on seat and stays confused on that seat because the problems will overwhelm him because he will not know how to start.

Nigeria’s issues are not about communication. It is not about power because all those things are there. It is not easy to govern in this nation, where the rule of law is taken for granted because institutions are already working.

“When you work in a country like Nigeria and other West African countries where the issues are different and require a lot of deep thoughts; require a lot of positive experience that can truly enable you to govern and to be able to bring everybody to reason on the table and be inclusive on the governance process and in the policy-making process.

“Not too many people have such experiences. I believe that the Nigeria of today is too fractured. There are so many contending voices. People are speaking in different directions. Our oneness is being threatened. Why? Not because of the north or south, Muslim and Christians, but because there’s frustration everywhere, there’s poverty everywhere. We don’t seem to have the answers because everything just appears to be going downhill.

And then the issue of Social Security is no longer there. The security in the land is worsening, our economy is in terrible shape. We cannot continue in that state. We must prioritize our priorities. We must continue to look at the right things, what we ought to do”,

Okowa slammed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for not embracing state police despite the specter of insecurity in the country.

“When it comes to security demand. You’re going to hear various voices, even the governors are crying. And they have begun to equip themselves with weapons, even unlawfully.

So the right thing is to ensure that the states are able to have their own police where they are officially equipped. And then they can go out in support of whatever the federal government police are doing to secure the land.”

Okowa also sympathised with the youths for the difficult times they were experiencing in the country.

“There are barriers everywhere in our lives, we cannot continue to frustrate the youths. So, we need to begin a consensus together. That is what Atiku Abubakar stands for.

“The only man who seems to have that depth of knowledge to take us out of where we are is Atiku Abubakar. ”

The Chairman of the Green Assembly Initiative, Duke Alamboye, lamented that youths were faced with the challenges of insecurity, and dilapidated infrastructure among others on a daily basis over the years.

•Text, except headline, courtesy of THE PUNCH