TheCable

Bukola Saraki, former president of the senate, says there will be no more banditry and kidnapping in the country if he is elected president.

Speaking on Sunday at a meeting with delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Minna, Niger state, Saraki said the country needs a president that is bold.

The presidential hopeful also said if elected, he would appoint more youths and women in his cabinet.

“Nigeria needs a president that is bold, energetic and dynamic; a president that can bring people together. I am the kind of president Nigeria needs. After I become president, there will be no more banditry and kidnapping in this country. I assure you that I will do more as president,” he said.

“I will include more women in my cabinet and make sure that my cabinet has youths as ministers of state.

“[The year] 2023 is the time of the north-central. We will make history to have a democratically-elected president from the zone. We can fix, rescue and rebuild the country.”

The former senate president also said he is in support of the exercise that produced him and Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, as “northern consensus candidates”.

“We voluntarily went to our elder statesmen to seek their participation. They did not seek or ask that they should be involved in it, and neither were we forced into doing it,” he said.

“We decided on our own to go seek their involvement for a northern consensus candidate. For the decision, we appreciate our elder statesmen for their role in the process and their patriotism and desire for the unity of the country.

“To abide by the decision is an individual choice. Everyone has to make his own decision. With all humility, I have accepted the recommendations and recognised them and have decided to forge ahead.”

On his part, Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Niger, said Saraki is someone that can be depended on.

“We need to articulate our positions and make our demands known. Saraki is a dependable person that we can rely on,” Aliyu said.