A chieftain of the APC, Adamu Garuba, yesterday declared his intention to seek the party’s presidential ticket.
Garuba, who is the Chief Executive Officer of IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited, made the declaration in Abuja.
He promised to among other things establish 10 geo-economic zones as opposed to the current six geo-political zones in the country.
He said his vision was to transform Nigeria from a politically divided unit to an economically integrated unit.
Garuba said: “At independence in 1960, Nigeria was divided into three major regions of North, West and East. And that is where we found the problem that is affecting us up till this very moment because from that very moment, we had a division that there were agitations that pushed us into 12 other regions, then to 19, then to 24, then to 30 and currently, the 37 regions that we call states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“What are the results of this division? Many children cannot go to school. Many mothers cannot go to hospitals. Our roads are now blocked. We cannot travel. Our businesses are closed. Our youths are becoming restive; carrying arms. They are killing fellow Nigerians.
“This is not the country we wished for. Why have we found ourselves in this situation today? We did that simply because we missed the foundation of establishing a state and the foundation of a state is building a united, prosperous, greater society that will benefit the children that are born today and the person that is being buried today.
“That is why I, Adamu Garuba, do solemnly stand in front of you here at the centre of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to declare my solemn oath to you in the holy month of Ramadan, while I am fasting; in the holy month where we have the sacramental resurrection of Jesus Christ, to declare my intention to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the coming 2023 elections.”
