By Peter Okutu, Abakaliki
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential aspirant from the South East extraction and former Senate President, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, Friday stated that his ambition of becoming the next President of the country would not be limited because he is from the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.
According to him, as “a full-fledged Nigerian with experiences across the board, I want to be accepted as the President of Nigeria across the board.”
Anyim who stated this when he appeared on Channels Television programme tagged: “Politics Today” added that “It’s my desire, effort and target to be acceptable to Nigeria.”
“In my few years in politics, President Obasanjo from South West became a President not because South-West supported him, they did not want him. They did not support him but Nigerians chose him. Again, in my little political life, President Buhari ran for Presidency three times, each of those three times, he will have a winning vote in major catchment areas in the North but he will not win until he teamed up with the South, he now ran and he won. So, for anybody from the South East, it’s not the South East that will make you the President. You are not going to be a President of the South East. You are going to be the President of Nigeria. And it is my desire, effort and target to be acceptable to Nigeria.
“If I am acceptable to Nigerians and Nigerians voted me in as their President it doesn’t matter where I come from. And if you look at my record, I have a pedigree. You can look at my record, you will agree with me that I have been nationalistic. And I don’t think am limited because of where I am from, I think it is a disservice to this nation. I won’t give in to it. I will aspire to a true Nigerian. I will aspire as somebody who has become whatever I have become in my life because I am a Nigerian.
“I will aspire to intervene in the affairs of my country at a time I think my services are needed as I have intervened before even outside the office. The Senate was turbulent, I became the President of the Senate and I stabilized it. And for every reason under the sun, I am not limited from where I am coming from. I am a full-fledged Nigerian with experiences across the board and I want to be accepted as the President of Nigeria across the board.”
On the state of the country, Senator Anyim described the problems facing the country as hydra-headed even as he pointed out that the major challenge the country needed to deal with was the issue bordering on lack of leadership.
“I want to be President because I am a Nigerian first and foremost. Two, because Nigeria has given me so much that I think I should offer the experiences I have gained from serving Nigeria. My knowledge of the country by the vantage positions I had held in this country and by the fact that I think I understand the challenges and I have clarity of what the solutions should be. Am putting my credentials on the table and that is why I think I should run.
“I think the problems have become hydra-headed, so you cannot even single them out. Because the problem had huge political dimensions, the problem have huge economic dimensions, the problem have huge social dimensions. I know that if you ask some people they will say security, lack of infrastructure and whatever. But if you ask me, I will say the greatest challenge is lack of leadership.”
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF who explained that his pedigree speaks volumes of his capability and capacity to tackle the present challenges facing the country noted that his administration “will refocus the Nigerian economy to fit into the new world economic direction. In other words, I will take into consideration the fourth industrial revolution and now articulate an economic agenda that will stand on industrialization, talent and innovation, science and technology. I also know that we have the vast huge agricultural resources and I will try to mechanize it.”
“In my first week when I assume office, I have to set up the structure of governance before I deploy then. So what I can assure you is that in the first week getting to the second week, I set the structure of the Government I want to run. I should make the necessary appointments, I should take the necessary steps to make sure that the appointment kicks-starts immediately and everybody gets to work. So, the first week in office, I should set up the structure of my Government.
“I will take it segment by segment. From the political angle, I will build consensus on those critical areas and resolve them as a foundation for launching into the future. I will build consensus on the political processes. I will build consensus on governance issues and frameworks. I will build consensus on political participation and inclusiveness.
“If we expand our industrial base, Agriculture will produce both for local consumption and for industrial purposes locally. I will redirect our economy in this manner. And that will generate a lot of diversification that bring in the private sector to run the economy and am sure that that will take us out of the woods both for export and for local consumption.
“On the social cohesion segment, I will be sure that I build cohesion based on equality, fairness and justice. I will also be sure that I will pursue that I pursue social and economic empowerment. I will make sure that I will pursue inclusive governance and make sure that people get what belongs to them.
“There are certain enablers of development or if you like enablers of prosperity that will go hand in hand like the issues of infrastructure, the issues of Education, the issues of security, the issues of job creation, governance issues with respect to regulatory issues like when you have private sector participation, Government must be sure that they have a strong regulatory framework to regulate the private sector.
“So, what I will do, I will properly segment the problems/ issues and address them. I have always said that when I talk about building consensus, I firmly believe and from my experience in government, that if you just enter the room and generate a policy and throw it at the people certainly it will fail because you need the buy-in of the people for the Policy to succeed.
“So, the first step of building consensus is involving the people in the decision making process, such that by the time they buy into what you bringing out, people will zealously and wholeheartedly embrace it. Government is not just about the leader or a few people in government, the Government must be the responsibility of everybody for it to make progress.
“You give everybody a stake in that Government and of course, that is what we talk about patriotism and people will commit to it and make a success of your policies.”
Anyim expressed optimism that the PDP will sweep the 2023 polls, the same way it did during the recent Abuja Area Council polls in the country.
“PDP will sweep the polls in 2023 the same way it swept the polls during the FCT Council elections.
“Did you watch the test run on the Abuja Area Council polls lately? That will tell you. Abuja Council elections, right before the nose of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, PDP was sweeping the polls, sweeping the polls, sweeping the polls. It was happen across the country. “
“Well, let me say that PDP is a national Party and not a South-East party. Let me also say that all through my political life, I have always played at the national level. I have never had any experience at the regional level. I have been President of the Senate right here in Abuja; I have been Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, right here in Abuja. I have made a few interventions at the national level. The one you mentioned when this country was at a crossroads, over the issue of the President being sick and not transmitting a letter. And you also know that even with the rising insecurity at a point, I wrote an open letter to the President.
“I have operated at the national level and my desire and interest are at the national level. So, there are people from the North, West, East and all that aspiring to pick the Presidential ticket of my party. I am putting my credentials on the table alongside theirs and whoever the party chooses am a party man. But I believe that I have the right credentials. I have the right experience. I have the right capability. I have the right competence and that I can compete with anybody on the table.”