The Punch:My presidency to guarantee national stability

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Calabar, the Cross River State capital, on Thursday, to seek the support of delegates ahead of the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress.

© Getty Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is pictured during a meeting as part of post-coup talks in Burkina Faso, on September 23, 2015 in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso’s interim leader Michel Kafando was officially restored to power at a ceremony attended by regional heads of state on Wednesday, a week after a coup by an elite army unit. AFP PHOTO / AHMED OUOBA (Photo by Ahmed OUOBA / AFP) (Photo by AHMED OUOBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking at an event he had with traditional rulers in the state, he solicited their support to actualise his presidential ambition.

He said the wealth of experience he had gained in the last seven years when he began working with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would be brought to bear if he is privileged to lead the nation in 2023.

Osinbajo, who spoke with the monarchs before having an audience with the party delegates, said, “On April 11, 2022, I formally declared my intention to run for the president of Nigeria after serving for seven years in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I have the great fortune to have been exposed by the PMB administration to governance.

“I know the intricacies of our country Nigeria. I think all the experience that I have gathered throughout this period has come to bring such a wealth of experience to bear.”

“It is my desire not just to tell you that I am contesting for that office, not just to keep the country’s peace but to ensure that the nation is stable.”

In his welcome remarks, the Chairman of Cross River State Traditional Rulers Council, Dr. Etiyin Edet, lauded Osinbajo for having the courage to vie for the presidential seat.

He said, “God cannot destroy what he has ordained. You are like Mount Zion that can never be removed. Let me tell you that the people you see here are invincible delegates.

“We will be invincible spirits in all the venues in the primaries that are going to take place.”

Meanwhile, Journalists were on the same day prevented from gaining access to the venue of the meeting between Osinbajo and delegates of the APC in Bayelsa State.

The meeting was scheduled for the Golden Tulip Hotel at the Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital, at 3 pm.

A statement on Wednesday by the state publicity secretary of the APC, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, indicated that Osinbajo would meet with the party delegates at 11am on Thursday but was shifted to 3pm because he had to visit Cross Rivers State before Bayelsa.

However, journalists who arrived at the hotel’s gate by 2.15 pm before the commencement of the meeting were denied entry by operatives of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force mounting security at the gate.

They claimed they were acting on orders from above, citing a change in an earlier plan that accommodated journalists to cover Osinbajo’s interaction with the APC delegates.

One of the DSS personnel, who held in his hand supposed lists of delegates and others to be granted access to the venue, asked the journalists to go back upon identifying themselves.

My presidency to guarantee national stability – Osinbajo (msn.com)