Skip to main content

I still want to rule Nigeria – Donald Duke




 A former governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke, on Tuesday said he would still take a shot at the presidency if the opportunity presented itself.
Duke spoke at a programme “The Nigerian Symposium for Emerging Leaders” held in Lagos.
He said though he once aspired to the position but did not emerge the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, he would still contest for the highest office in the country at the appropriate time.
Duke explained that it was because of his preference for the presidential seat that he did not vie for any federal legislative seat after serving out his terms as governor.

“I do not have the flair for the legislature; standing up and sitting down at the chambers to raise a point. That was why I did not contest for the Senate but the presidency, after serving out my term as governor.

“I have contested the presidency before; I will still give it a shot when the opportunity presents itself . I believe I still have the energy in me,” he said.

The former governor canvassed the reform of the country`s political system to accommodate wider participation and good governance.
He suggested the review of the electoral law to allow for independent candidacy.

Duke said the country`s democracy would fare better if young people, who form the larger proportion of the population ,took more active part in its political process.

He said most developed countries had young people as their leaders at one point or the other in their democratic history.

The former governor, however, said power was never given easily, urging young people to participate in the political process and use their prime to add value to the country.

“I want to urge young people in the country not to see leadership as if it belongs to some people, but do everything positive to be part of it.

“You can only make a difference at the prime of your life. You can actually add value now, not when you are above 50.

“So, you need to be part of the political process and play your part. It is your right to be there; nobody is doing you a favour.

“You represent more than 60 per cent of the population; you don’t have to beg for it.
“Just make effort to make that change and contribute your quota to nation building,“he said.

Duke urged government at all levels to be accountable and challenged the governed to demand more from their leaders.

Also speaking, former Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State decried lack of transparency and accountability in government.

He said the situation was responsible for the level of corruption in the country and poor delivery of dividends of democracy.
Obi said the way out of the quagmire was for leaders to carry the governed along in budgetary spending and plans for effective tracking.

“The way forward is that governments should make their budgets more explicit and published. The plans and the money to be spent on them should be clearly stated.

“That is when people can track and make comparative analysis with previous budgets and then we can achieve some transparency,” he said.

The former governor also urged the masses to show more interest in the budget so as to keep leaders on their toes.

Mr Seun Onigbinde, Chief Executive Officer, BudgIt, an organisation with interest in accountability in public finance, urged Nigerians to demand accountability from their governments.

He also urged governments at all levels to always carry the people along in their budgetary proposals and implementation to achieve accountability.


(NAN)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DEFECTIONS: Why Saraki, Dogara Others Must Heed Sen. Ibrahim's Call by Comrade Nwokoma Ndubuisi M.

The gale of defections in the National Assembly last week was followed by an advice from no one else than Sen. Abu Ibrahim that the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and others in the fold of the All Progressives Congress APC that are still masquerading in the party should resign their membership of the party. This call which also implies that they resign their positions as leaders of the various arms of the National Assembly is yet to be complied with by those concerned as at the time of writing this piece Whatever their reasons for still staying put in the party may be, the fact of the matter is that their continued stay in the party has become a sore which must be extricated from the body.  As I watched through the proceedings of the defections on national television, I wept for the country for producing such leaders that lack morality despite all the party has given them politically which they ordin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rivers Governmnet, PDP Disagree Over $280 million Looan

The Rivers State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party in the state are currently at loggerheads over the request by the state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, for a $280m loan for water and sanitation projects. While the state PDP said that the latest request for loan by the state government was unnecessary due to the resources accruing to the state through the federal allocation and internally generated revenue, the government said it was not true that the funds were to be used for 2015 elections. The state House of Assembly had on Monday endorsed Amaechi’s request for loan for water supply and sanitation projects. But the state PDP, in a statement, signed by the Special Adviser to its Chairman, Mr. Jerry Needam, said the request for loan was aimed at punishing the governor’s successor in 2015. The party called on members of the House of Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the African Development Bank and the World Bank not to honour the loan re...
Post a Comment
Read more

2019: Northern youths kick as Northwest APC lawmakers endorse Buhari

The leadership of the Arewa Youth Forum on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari does not deserve any endorsement for the 2019 presidency. Reacting to a purported endorsement by some serving All Progressives Congress’s lawmakers from the Northwest in Kaduna, the AYF’s National President, Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, said Buhari was not fit to return as president in 2019. The AYF argued that with the killing spree all over the country, especially in the North, Buhari should serve his mandatory four years term and quit the stage for another Northerner. Gujungu noted that one sour point about President Buhari’s 2019 ambition was his claim that the killings across the country were being carried out by “desperate politicians”, yet he had not arrested even a single suspect. The AYF president, therefore, said Nigerians should blame the president for the attacks on innocent citizens. The AYF boss who spoke to our correspondent on phone on Monday, said the President’s cl...
Post a Comment
Read more