Elizabeth O.
Why I Picked Okowa as my Running Mate -Atiku (FULL TEXT)
Okowa and his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, were the two governors speculated to be considered for the slot.
- READ ATIKU’S FULL REMARKS
Let me begin by, once more, commending our great Party for organizing and concluding, arguably, the best and rancour-free Convention, which produced me as our flag-bearer for the next year’s Presidential Election.
Once more, I commend my fellow aspirants in that contest. I thank them for their sportsmanship. They put up spirited fights because they cared and care for our country. I have personally gone around to thank them and to seek their cooperation for the struggle ahead.
Party unity is critical not only for us to prosecute a winning campaign but also to provide good governance that our country seriously deserves and our people earnestly yearn for. The task of winning the coming elections will be a tough one and we must not take anything for granted.
With the convention behind us, we have arrived at the stage for me to pick a Running Mate because this is a joint ticket. I am very happy to announce today that I have reached a decision on that.
In arriving at the decision, I held wide consultations with various stakeholders in our party including our Governors, National Working Committee, Board of Trustees, and other leaders to seek their inputs and their wisdom.
In these consultations, I made clear that my running mate would have the potential to succeed me at a moment’s notice, that is, a President-in-waiting.
- In other words, the person must have the qualities to be President. The person must have an appreciation of the deep rot which our country has been put into by the rudderless APC government; understands the great suffering that most of our people are going through and the urgency of relieving them of that suffering; understands the critical importance of economic growth and development to provide our young people with jobs, hope, and a pathway to wealth.
The person must appreciate the critical importance of education in the development of modern societies so we can prepare our young people to be able to compete in the increasingly competitive and globalized world.
