Cross Rivers State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has declared his intention to join the 2023 presidential race following approval from the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Ayade, who disclosed this after his meeting with the President at Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, said he had secured the approval of President Buhari to hold consultations to unveil his plans to contest for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said his meeting with the President is to seek counsel as he prepares for next month’s primary elections.
He, however, stated that he did not expressly tell the President of his desire to succeed him but only asked for permission to begin holding consultations.
Governor Ayade who recently defected from the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, said he came to seek spiritual and political guidance from the President, on who will take over from him come 2023 for continuity’s sake.
According to him, “I came before President Muhammadu Buhari as a servant of God supplicating for a direction for proper alignment. Because this is how true democracy is practiced. Because it is not an election. It is a family, the party is an association of people. So you must first come before the leadership of that your family to seek direction.”
Ayade noted that he is aiming to make Nigeria great, as sectors including security, economy, and electricity will be his focus if elected as president.
He said if the presidency is zoned to the South, he would replicate his achievements in Cross River State.
He, however, said he would not hesitate to align with any candidate President Buhari presents, so as to consolidate on the modest achievements of the APC.
Ayade, while reacting to the possibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan declaring for the presidency said he would gladly support Jonathan if he is the anointed candidate of the party.
“I have great respect for President Jonathan. So, I have no challenges whatsoever.
“I believe that the party leadership will decide the appropriate candidate that will take our party to victory and so if you heard me well, I am just part of the family, absolutely loyal to the President, seeking to run for president and I’m running.
“At any point in time the political leadership of my party, the APC, feels that (former) President Jonathan is the appropriate candidate that will take us to victory, I will turn my support for him.
“I am never ever going to fight the establishment, the institution, the aristocracy, the spiritual vortex of which God has placed a leader in the country. I will never question the powers of the leader of the country.
“I have never played the politics of antagonism or fights. If you know how I became governor, I became governor by offering to support whoever the governor wants. By a stroke of luck, I became the candidate. The same token… I’m only here to support the President’s candidate and by a stroke of luck he said you to go there and join the race,” he stated.
