The Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has said that Nigeria needs the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Timubu to fix the myriads of challenges bedeviling the country. Ayade, who spoke on TVC News Breakfast yesterday morning, said Tinubu has the large heart and the experience to turn things around for the betterment of Nigerians.
Besides his expertise, the two-term governor, who coordinates the ruling party’s campaign for the Southsouth region, said the balance of politics also favoured Tinubu. He said the 2023 general elections will be a watershed of electioneering in Nigeria. “If you never headed a government, it is easy to criticise. Bola Ahmed Timubu has been a head of Lagos State. He has been tested. He has a recruitment process that guarantees confidence.
“He is not somebody driven by ethnicity. He was a governor that had commissioners outside Lagos State. He has a style of having his eyes on ready hands. That means, he delegates, and he is sensitive and ready to take charge when there’s a system failure. When you look from the distance, it looks easier. I have been a chief executive of a state and I have seen the internal mechanism that delivers failure. Yet, experience remains the best teacher.
“I think that the best way you can test somebody is to run a small system like a governor of a state. So, I think he comes with a lot of experience. For instance, he moved Lagos internally generated revenue from N6 billion to N60 billion, setting up a roadmap for the state’s economy that makes the state almost the largest in the whole Africa. I remember when I was in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and I had an issue, went to Timubu. He gave his support in spite of the fact that I was a PDP governor. The country needs somebody with such big heart.
“Besides, the balance of politics favours him because indeed, it is the turn of the South. So, I think he is the right person at this time. If I analyse South-south as whole, you will see that the APC will be sweeping the region,’ he said. The governor promised to comfortably deliver 1 million votes in Cross River for his party. According to him, with all the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has put in place, 2023 electioneering will be a watershed in Nigeria’s politics, saying Nigerian’s vote will count.
