A media owner and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress(ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu has expressed his readiness to take on his counterparts in the All Progressives Congress(APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) during the 2023 general elections.
He spoke Wednesday at a media parley with journalists in Abuja.
The ADC standard bearer, who expressed disgust at the level of killings and criminalities across the country, said there was need to change the leadership recruitment process if the people’s welfare was to change for the better.
He said: “We don’t have our very best while going for general elections. Apathy in government is all time high. Two issues; votes don’t count and insecurity is high. Thousands are being killed and kidnapped. Killings in North East, North West and South East too. There are reported and unreported cases. To change the way people behave is what the media can do. I don’t believe in castigating government all the time and that’s why I am offering myself.
“Mine is on a rescue mission using ADC as a platform. Give me a chance to run a race and I promise you Nigeria will be better for it. I am not afraid to take on Atiku and others. I am not talking rhetoric. I went into that contest to emerge through a democratic process even when I had the option of going to parties where I can emerge as a lone candidate.”
He also pleaded with Nigerians to use the power in their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to change the narrative, saying he has a lot to offer the nation.
“A life without hope is simply hopeless. This can’t be our fate. We must believe that we will emerge from this stronger and better. As a people we have been confronted with myriad problems over the decades and each time the world predicts our disintegration. You can’t blame them because no nation has suffered the kind of battering and bad leadership Nigerians have endured but for some reason God has kept us. We have endured albeit painfully but we are still alive. This is why we must stay hopeful.
“When you watch the political comedy playing out in our land you must wonder at the impunity of our leaders. They seem to take us for granted and expect that we will be enslaved for life. This is not and cannot be our story. We must resist them. I want you to understand that you all have a role to play. It is not my fight alone. There are those who might not like me and that’s okay. Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for the next generation. Nigeria can’t continue like this.
“The power to change this narrative lies in your PVC. Tens of millions of Nigerians still refuse to obtain PVC. This is morally wrong. It is our civic duty to vote. Many who ought to run for office shy away from doing this even when parties like the ADC have made it free for women, youths and people with disabilities to run for office. What are we waiting for? Who will rescue our nation if we don’t stand up for a patriotic task such as this. I urge and beseech you to vote and be voted for. This is the only way we can get rid of these people and take our nation back. Don’t doubt your capabilities. Trust God and launch out in faith,” said Kachikwu, who is the owner of Root TV.
