Source: Nigerian Compass
By Lateef Ibrahim, Akeem Oyetunji, Julius Toba, Abuja & Biodun Oyeleye
Thursday, September 16, 2010



In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, GOVERNOR BUKOLA SARAKI described as arrant nonsense the insinuation that he was fronting for Babangida in the race.

To the two-term governor, he does not need the ridiculous pretence of instigating crowds to persuade or beg him to run, neither does he need to wait on “mere good luck” to be a contender.

From SARAKI came yesterday clear indications of his readiness to vie for the Presidency with his dismissal of insinuations that he was only standing in for Babangida as a surrogate.

In a strongly-worded statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Mas’ud Adebimpe, the Kwara State helmsman said his recent publicised visit to the former military ruler in Minna, the Niger State capital, was merely to inform him of his ambition to run as well. The same courtesy, the statement said further, had also been extended to Goodluck.

Apparently hitting at the various public statements asking Jonathan to contest, SARAKI said rather than use the ‘ridiculous’ method of ‘instigating crowds’ to persuade him to run or depend on ‘mere goodluck’ to become a contestant, SARAKI has the courage and capacity to make bold his ambition and pursue it.

The statement reads: “We wish to state categorically that His Excellency, DR ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, the Executive Governor of Kwara State and a presidential aspirant of the PDP is not and would never be a “surrogate” of General Ibrahim Babangida or any other aspirant for that matter, as claimed in the story.

“SARAKI, the current Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), is a serious-minded person and a frontline contender for the PDP presidential ticket. It is therefore preposterous of anyone to assume that DR SARAKI is entering the race as “surrogate” of any other aspirant.

“The said story, which relied on an “undisclosed” source, had based its conclusion on DR SARAKI’s visit to General Babangida in Minna last Sunday. We wish to note that the purpose of that visit by Dr SARAKI was only to formally notify General Babagida of his intention to run for the presidential ticket. This graceful act of courtesy should be commended by all right-thinking individuals who desire to see a new kind of politics in Nigeria, characterised by mutual respect among candidates and aspirants.

“It is also worthy of note that just as DR SARAKI visited General Ibrahim Babangida and other major stakeholders across the country to notify them of his intentions to contest, he also visited President Goodluck Jonathan for the same purpose. Perhaps, in the vacuous logic of the surrogate mongers, DR SARAKI should also be labelled as President Jonathan’s “surrogate” as well. How absurd.

“SARAKI has the courage and the capacity to make bold his ambition and pursue it. He does not need the ridiculous pretence of instigating crowds to persuade or beg him to run, neither does he need to wait on mere goodluck to be a contender.

“He understands the enormity of the task ahead and he is confident in his ability to offer Nigeria the kind of dynamic and energetic leadership that Nigeria needs at this critical moment. He also believes that no other contender out there is better suited for the enormous task than himself. And this is why he is contesting.” SARAKI’s contributions to national growth in the past seven years as Governor, and in the last three years of Chairman Governors’ Forum is very clear. These are the credentials that he is bringing to the table, and the values of these credentials can neither be denied nor diminished.”