Why I want to be Nigeria’s president — Donald Duke

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

ABUJA—The presidential candidate of Peoples Redemption Party, Mr. Donald Duke, said yesterday he joined the presidential race to solve Nigeria’s mounting problems and give Nigerians a new lease of life.

Duke, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, regretted that Nigeria had not been able to resolve its leadership deficiency since the return to democratic rule in 1979, and pledged to fill the gap if elected president next year.

He said while leaders who had presided over Nigeria since 1979 came with political visions, none of them came forward with a leadership vision to give the country the needed political fulfillment and economic transformation.

The former Cross River State governor said: “There has been frustration in the political system since the return to democracy. In reality, we could have done better than what we have if we had the right leadership.

“Since the return to democratic rule, there have been successive governments but there has not been one with leadership vision.

“That is why I have put up myself in order to provide the needed leadership to change the political question and provide the required development and growth.

We in the political system do not need mudslinging but to tell Nigerians what we can do for the country,” Duke said.

He said previous leaders of Nigeria came to office without any idea of what they were coming to do, adding that without an articulated vision, government in Nigeria had continued to fail the people.

He said it would be possible for the opposition to defeat the incumbent administration if they came together and decide who was the best among them that could lead a united front against the administration.

The PRP candidate said without presenting a united front against the government, it would be easy for the Tinubu government to win the January 2027 election.

Duke argued that the APC could also lose the election, even with its governors controlling more than 30 states in the country, if the opposition unite and work with a common goal.

The former governor, who supported the idea of Nigeria subsidising petroleum products, said it was wrong for the country to use what it had to punish the citizens by withdrawing fuel subsidy and selling petroleum products to the citizens at foreign rates.

He also supported the introduction of state police, saying it should have come earlier than now, given the high rate of poverty-induced crimes in the country.

Duke stated that the introduction of student loans by the government was a good idea but noted that such an idea would not give the beneficiaries the ability to repay the loans if the government didn’t fashion out employment-generating schemes as a national policy.

He argued that government expenditure didn’t match its revenue generation and suggested that the country could do better by introducing measures to align monetary and fiscal policies to create wealth for the citizens now languishing in poverty.

**2027: Atiku pledges direct payment of LG **

By Juliet Umeh

The presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to ensure that funds meant for local government councils in the country were are paid directly to them immediately after being sworn in as President.

Recall that though the Supreme Court had ruled that local governments should draw their federal allocation direct from the federation account, many of them are still not able to do so, thus stalling developments at the grassroots.

However, Atiku in a statement signed and posted via X.com by his official spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, yesterday, said his administration would uphold the rule of law and ensure constitutional independence for all tiers of government, including local governments.

He also referenced the Supreme Court judgment delivered in July 2024 on the financial autonomy of local governments, accusing the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to enforce the judgment.

According to him, the alleged failure is aimed at avoiding confrontation with state governors who previously controlled local government funds.

“My administration will respect court judgments, protect local government autonomy, ensure that public funds reach the people for whom they are meant, and restore true federalism.

“This move will ensure that development is brought to the grassroots, reduce poverty at the level of government nearest to the people, and guarantee financial independence to the local governments which will increase their capacity to fight crimes and terrorism at that level,’’ Atiku stated.

He alleged that the Tinubu administration’s position was influenced by political considerations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC president candidate claimed that state governors were being allowed to retain control of local government funds as an incentive to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“This is not the Nigeria we should accept,” the former Vice President stated.

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