A group which identifies itself as the ‘Young Professionals for Osinbajo’ has in a communique asked the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN to declare his interest to run for the position of President in 2023.
The group which comprises of young professionals from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria cited the Vice President’s track record both in his capacity as Vice President and as Acting President as the reason for the demand. Although it noted that the call may appear to be coming too early in time considering the fact that the general election is scheduled for 2023, the group however noted that it is important that a leader with the competence and widespread support base as the Vice President will be the best candidate to fly the flag of the All-Progressive Congress (APC).
Speaking on behalf of the group, the Spokesperson for the group Danladi Adamu quoted the group’s President thus,
‘‘With the general elections fast approaching, there have been concerns from different quarters as to who would be the flag bearers of the major political parties. With the dwindling economic fortunes, the ravaging insecurity, the pervasive lack of trust in the government by the generality of the people, the people at this point need a leader who has the needed experience, exposure, competence and political Will to steer the ship of state to the right direction. As a group, we believe Prof Osinbajo is the most qualified for that position. His antecedents as Acting President already gives every right-thinking Nigerian an inkling as to what an administration under his leadership will look like’’.
The group cited the return of peace to the Niger Delta during the period the Vice President was Acting President as a proof that the Vice President has what it takes to tackle the prevailing insecurity in the country. In 2019, Nigeria’s rank on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business moved from 146 to 131 out of 190 countries. The report showed that the nation’s ranking increased by 15 steps from what is recorded in 2018. This milestone was achieved under the leadership of the Vice President, Prof Osinbajo who supervised the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) established by the President.
The Vice President, in 2018, due to his strong belief in locally made products and local contents, initiated the Project MINE (Made in Nigeria for Export), a Presidential Priority Intervention project aimed at increasing the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the economy and creating new jobs in the export-oriented manufacturing value chain. Also, in 2018, President Buhari Signed Executive Order (EO5) for the Development of Local Content in Science, Engineering, and Technology. Amongst other laudable achievements, Prof. Osinbajo initiated the Social Investment Programmes (SIPs), regarded as the largest social welfare scheme in Africa. The scheme comprises of the N-Power Programme, currently employing 500,000 graduates; the GEEP loans (MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni), which provides credit to about 3 million Nigerian traders, artisans and businessmen; the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme which has fed about 10 million school pupils with free meals daily; and the Conditional Cash Transfer to the most vulnerable and poorest of Nigerians. The Office of the Vice President successfully coordinated the SIPs between 2016 and October 2019.
The group further enjoined Nigerian youths to throw their weight behind the candidature of the Vice President when he declares his interest to run for the position of President in 2023.