By Esther Daniels

Former Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, on Monday, said over 5000 Fulani children had benefitted from his education intervention program.

Okorocha stated this at a World Press Conference in Abuja on Monday, to declare his intention for the plum job in Nigeria.

The Lawmaker representing Imo West at the Senate, in an elaborate unwritten address, highlighted education, security, youths and women empowerment, economic revitalization, unity and poverty eradication as parts of the cardinals of his policies, when elected the President of Nigeria.

He said, he has trained over 25,000 children and students across Africa through the Rochas Foundation, adding that he would make education available for all Nigerians, both poor and rich making learning attractive for all and sundry.

He said, "I have trained over 5,000 Fulani children in schools, I have trained over 6,000 Yoruba children and over 10,000 Igbo children in schools. I don't need to know them or be close to them, all I understand is the language of poverty, because I was a child of poverty".

He stressed that, "the mood of the nation now suggests that it needs a leader who is compassionate and who can listen to the cries of orphans and widows, the downtrodden.

Senator Okorocha, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tourism, had last week, officially declared his intention to run for the position of President, during the plenary session.

The Chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) said he had contested for President of Nigeria 20 years ago, in 2007 and also in 2014, saying he was in politics for what he could offer and not what he could gain.

He said, "I'm not in politics for what I can gain, I'm in politics for what I can offer. I did not make my money through politics. If you are in doubt, go and ask the Code of Conduct Bureau, I was already made before becoming the Governor of Imo State. If there is anyone who was like me before venturing into politics, let the person come out and speak".

He stressed that the nation needed a man who could encourage the youth to be self employed and bring them out of poverty, adding that, the notion that Nigeria was the poverty capital of the world was untrue.

"The days of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop must stop in Nigeria. I introduced the 'Youth Must Work Initiative' in Imo State and it worked.

"The era of a young Chinese man would be producing toothpicks and other items for my Nigerian youths on the street to consume, shall be over.

"Under my government, employment shall be ephemeral thing, what we shall have will be youths who are self employed, because we shall cause the youths to identify and explore their innate talents", Okorocha added.

As an entrepreneur, Okorocha said, "The problem of Nigeria is that, if there is a problem of N1bn to solve, Nigeria has only N10,000 to solve it. The country needs a radicalized businessman who can turn nothing to something.

"What do you say of a Police man whose salary is N50,000 and he goes to buy a bag of rice for N30,000 to feed about 7 children?"

The Lawmaker ruled out the issue of zoning as a reason for his ambition, saying, he was not a candidate of zoning but that of justice, to give sense of belonging to the people of South East in Nigeria.

Rochas is a good man

Yes na

Only for them to complete school, join the army and kill and brutalise your people for daring to stop their brothers from killing your brothers from the SE

That would still not make them vote four you

Na thus one campaign strategy be that?...it's too cheap naa, anyway you can go and meet them and their parents to vote for you at the pools.

A fruitless venture. Those set of people are a lost cause. They are only loyal to one thing... don't ask me what.

Make he list out the things he did when he was the Governor of Imo state.

Perhaps why you wanted to recoup your spendings from Imos coffers.