The Organised Private Sector for Osinbajo (OPS4Osinbajo) says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is more credible than APC national leader Bola Tinubu who want to be Nigeria’s president in 2023.

“Even though an aspirant has informed Buhari about his 2023 presidential ambition, the most credible option still appears to be Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,” asserted the group’s spokesman Abdulrahman Farouk in a statement on Tuesday. “And for the organised private sector as well as the citizenry, Osinbajo offers much fertile ground for hope to rapidly germinate.” 

By describing Mr Osinbajo as the most credible option for APC, the support group also pooh-poohed Orji Uzor Kalu’s and Governor David Umahi’s ambition to contest the 2023 presidential poll.

According to Mr Farouk, the incumbent vice president is more intellectually endowed than any current presidential aspirants aspiring to run for president and that with Mr Osinbajo as president, Nigeria’s organised private sector has a basis for optimism about post-2023 economic activities.

He reasoned that the vice president’s consistent focus and insider knowledge of the objectives and challenges related to President Muhammadu Buhari regime’s economic programmes were significant advantages towards Nigeria’s economic rejuvenation.

“No declaration by any number of aspirants can douse the patriotic passion associated with those championing the cause of an Osinbajo presidency in 2023,” added the Osinbajo support group’s spokesman.

He emphasised that Mr Osinbajo’s candidature would offer hope for citizens with high expectations about job creation, increased earnings and growth.

Mr Farouk stressed that rather than mere sentiments, Nigerians must carefully weigh the past and current potentials of various candidates towards using their voter’s card responsibly in the 2023 election.

He noted that getting Nigeria’s economy to grow faster than the population would take a lot of consistent planning, discipline and integrity.

“The idealistic and very patriotic pursuit of various economic policies led by Osinbajo speaks volumes about future potentials for people-focused policies,” claimed the Osinbajo support group. “Under his supervision, Nigeria’s social investment programmes have been ranked internationally, but much more good news should unfold when he is fully in the saddle by 2023.”

The statement also quoted Aliyu Kurfi, Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG)’s chairman, saying, “As genuine democrats who believe in the progressive ideals that Vice President Osinbajo stands for… We are mobilising for Prof Yemi Osinbajo, a man who believes in the rule of law, a man who is a democrat and a great progressive too; nothing in his antecedents ever speaks of anti-democratic standards.”

On Monday, Mr Tinubu told journalists he had informed Mr Buhari of his plan to go for the APC’s presidential ticket. The Gazette had published a series of damning reports on Mr Tinubu’s corrupt enrichment through the questionable Lagos tax infrastructure and Alpha Beta, siphoning billions of naira to shell companies.

Mr Umahi, the Ebonyi governor, also did the same on Wednesday. Like the ex-Lagos governor, he is burdened by corruption allegations. In January 2021, Peoples Gazette reported how Mr Umahi channelled state funds between 2011 and 2019 to Brass Engineering, which he owns and has chaired since 1993.

Based on bank records of the state, the report notes that Mr Umahi received more than N3.6 billion when he began transferring state funds into Brass Engineering shortly after becoming deputy governor to Martin Elechi in 2011. 

(NAN)