A former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has advised Nigerians against voting for an elderly person as their President in 2023.
According to him, electing another elderly person in the next year’s general elections would not augur well for the country.
He said the nation needs a young leader who is capable and competent.
Saraki spoke through his representatives, who were at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital ahead of the PDP primary elections slated for May 28.
The five-man team led by Prince Olateru Olagbegi had met with delegates and leaders of the party in Ogun, including a governorship aspirant, Ladi Adebutu and the State Chairman, Sikirullahi Ogundele.
Olagbegi emphasised that Saraki, who is yet to clock 60, is a better candidate for the 2023 presidential election, instead of the elders in the race.
President Muhammadu Buhari, 79-year-old will complete his second term on May 29, 2023.
Among the major contenders for the number one seat are 75-year-old former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who will be 70 on Tuesday, March 29.
While saying he holds nothing against old people, Olagbegi said that the nation needs a leader that can be available anywhere across the nation to supervise projects for proper execution.
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“Bukola is just 59, this is someone anybody can relate with. We need a President that will be able to move around the nation to supervise projects for proper execution. We do not want a President that will be a lord over us, not the one that will be geriatric.
“I don’t have anything against elderly people, but there are times for things. Look at the Westerners and who are the ones governing them today. Bill Clinton, George Bush (Jnr) and Barack Obama all became President when they were in their 40s. Go to France and UK today, all of them have young vibrant leaders.
“People do talk of Joe Biden, but we are not going to compare Nigeria with America when it comes to processes and systems in place. The Americans have their systems in place, so it’s not a big deal if they have an elderly person like Joe Biden as President.
“In Nigeria, if we make a mistake and choose another elderly person that cannot really move, then only God can help us,” he stated.
Speaking about zoning, Olagbebi maintained that Saraki can equally claim to be a Southerner because his mother was a Princess of Owo in Ondo State.
“Talking about zoning, Bukola Saraki’s mother was from Owo. She’s a princess in the palace. Are you going to tell me Bukola is not from the south?” he asked.
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He, however, posited that choosing the man who would solve Nigeria’s problems should not be based on zoning, ethnicity or religion.
In their separate remarks, Adebutu and Ogundele noted that Saraki played a key role in resolving the internal crisis which almost tore Ogun PDP apart.
“Saraki has done well for us in Ogun State as he was instrumental to the unity of the party after long and protracted crisis,” Ogundele said.
