The Group Managing Director, Sahara Group, Kola Adesina, has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to critically examine all presidential aspirants seeking his endorsement for their candidacy ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Aspirants who have informed Buhari of their ambition include the National Leader of All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, among others.
Aside from giving them the go-ahead, Adesina said Buhari must question their manifestos and asked them about their layout process for implementation of their plans and programmes when they eventually become the president.
Addressing Buhari at an Iftar dinner with members of the business community and the leadership of political parties on Tuesday in Abuja, the Sahara Group GMD said the country needs the right person to succeed the President in 2023.
Commenting on the type of leader Nigeria needs after Buhari, Adesina who was a representative of the business community at the dinner, said the next president of Nigeria must carry ‘‘the banner of hope for a new Nigeria, not a banner of self.’’
‘‘We are transitioning and I want to respectfully ask the President that anybody who comes around to show interest in leadership, you must ask them for their manifesto. Not what they want to do but how they want to do it.
‘‘The challenge has always been how, not what,’’ Adesina was quoted as saying in a statement by Buhari spokesman, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘Let’s join hands to defeat insecurity, President Buhari urges political party leaders’.
Adesina, who thanked the President for sustaining investments in infrastructure across the country, including the Second Niger Bridge, and the East-West Road, among others, stressed the need for continuity by the next government.
Addressing his guests who include captains of industry and political leaders at the dinner, Buhari said his administration had done exceedingly well in improving the business climate, urging the private sector to complement the government’s effort in poverty reduction and job creation for the young people.
‘‘No administration has done as much as we have done in the creation of a climate best suited for business, big and small, to thrive.
‘‘The ease of doing business index that is globally recognized has acknowledged that the ease with which business is carried out in the country has never been better than it is today. We will continue to make it better.
‘‘We will equally continue to count on the support of the private sector to improve economic growth and create new job opportunities for our teeming population.
‘‘Employment is critical to the stability and prosperity of our country. Government and the private sector, working together, have an opportunity to transform the lives of people in ways that were hard to imagine in the past,’’ he said.
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