A former Head of State. General Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday formally declared his intention to contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the opposition All Progressives Congress.
“I humbly wish to present myself before you, before all of Nigeria and before God seeking to be elected as APC’s presidential candidate,” Buhari told a mammoth crowd at the Eagles Sqaure, Abuja.
Buhari lamented that the over 15 years of the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government has brought untold hardship to Nigerians.
He said the APC was determined to rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of the ruling PDP.
He said many Nigerians are grappling with extreme poverty coupled with insecurity occasioned by Boko Haram insurgency, armed robbery and kidnapping.
The former Nigerian leader, however, posited that it is the responsibility of all to join hands if we must overcome the various challenges confronting us as a nation.
Buhari said: “It is everyone’s duty to resolve and help the national effort to overcome these immense challenges.
“I would like us to place on record our appreciation for the efforts of our Armed Forces under new leadership and police in confronting these challenges.
“Interference in the form of rigging, which PDP Government has practiced since 2003, is the worst form of injustice – denying people their right to express their opinions.
“Whether they like it or not, injustice cannot endure.
“Since 1999, PDP has presided over our country’s decline.
“Nigeria, in my experience, has never been so divided, so polarized by an unthinking government hell bent on ruling and stealing forever whatever befalls the country.
“Mr. Chairman, we in APC are resolved to stop them in their tracks and rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of PDP.”
Buhari also said that the last 16 years of PDP government has witnessed decline in all critical sectors of life in Nigeria, noting that power outage has taken an alarming dimension.
According to him: “When PDP came to power in 1999, Nigeria was generating about 4,000 M/W of electricity.
“After 15 years and $20 billion spent, we are generating between 3,000 – 4,000 M/W.
“No failure is more glaring than this.
“We in APC are resolved to bring change to Nigeria.
“We plan to do things differently.”
The declaration was attended by APC chieftains, including a former Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; and Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.
Also present were a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipriye Sylva; former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Rotimi Akeredolu; Senators Ali Ndume; Abdullahi Adamu; and Babafemi Ojudu.
Buhari will battle former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwakwanso for the APC presidential ticket.
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