A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sam Ohuabunwa has said that his ambition to contest for the office of President in the 2023 general elections was not motivated by the rising clamour for the presidency to go the South-East geopolitical zone.
The former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) contended that his ambition is motivated by his competence, adding that he’s ready to compete with the best in the country.
Ohuabunwa said this in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday.
He said: “I haven’t come because I feel I am Igbo. I have come because I’m a competent Nigerian who has lived in this nation and who has had the privilege of enjoying a good nation. But I see that the country that we are leaving behind for our children is not the country our parents left behind for us. So, we need to change the narrative.
“Of course, in Nigeria, everybody speaks about equity, justice and fair play, and in the party that I am, the PDP, rotation of power is what they have agreed to do. In Nigeria, we think about power-sharing, power rotation and federal character. These things speak about ownership in a country where you have diverse people, cultures, ethnicity and religion. It makes sense to often plan on how you can make sure that every section of the country has an opportunity. And today, there is a large poll of opinion that the South-East ought to be given the opportunity to produce the president but I’m not here because of that. If it happens, that’s nice. But if it doesn’t, I’m here to compete with the best in the country.”
Ohuabunwa, who also said that he’s coming with an opportunity for young people, lamented the lack of opportunity for them to get jobs and even exercise their creativity today as it was in the past.
He said: After I joined Pfizer, they gave me a car. As a young pharmacist, I had three cars in my garage. Today, there is no opportunity for a young man to get a job in five years, not to talk of getting a car or building a house because we don’t have mortgage, we don’t have opportunity to get lease and opportunity for young people to be fully employed, not just working for people but to be able to exercise their creativity and create jobs.”
