Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Federal Minister of Transportation, announced his intention to run for President of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress on Saturday, April 9.
Amaechi made the announcement at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt, which was hosted by the Rivers branch of the APC.
He indicated that his desire to run for President was motivated by a moral obligation stemming from his years of public service.
“I stand before you today to declare my intention and submit my application to serve as your next President.
“I did not come to this decision lightly. I have served our nation for the last seven years as Minister of Transportation.
“For eight years before that, I served as Governor of Rivers. In the preceding eight years before that, I was Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly,” he stated.
According to Amaechi, his 23 years of service have given him not only extensive expertise in government and public service, but also sympathy for our country’s regular folks.
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“After more than two decades in the public arena, I had wanted to go on holiday and spend more time with my family before charting a new course outside politics.
“But at 56 and a member of the generation born after independence who has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Nigeria
“I am compelled by the urgency of our present challenges to place my experience and proven capacity at the service of the nation at the highest level,” he added.
The minister said that those who knew him could testify that he had always been a straight talker.
“This trait has not always made me popular, but I speak truth with conviction. So, allow me to speak the truth here today.
“We are facing some very serious challenges as a country; these are problems of insecurity, challenges of greater accountability in governance, youth unemployment and the scourge of spiraling poverty.
“These problems are however, not the exclusive preserve of Nigeria, we live in a troubled world: The reality we used to know has altered in nearly every nation,” he said.
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