Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has been presented with the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party by the Human Rights Radio, producers of the popular national radio/TV programme, Brekete Family Show.
The presentation took place at the Government House, Uyo, on Thursday, 7 April, when a delegation of the station led by Innocent Orji visited the governor in his office, Punch reports.
Emmanuel, while thanking the delegation and Nigerians, who contributed towards the purchase of the form, said he would never take the honour done him for granted.
The governor said, “Honestly when I heard about the plan to buy me a presidential nomination form was going on, I asked myself how can people raise up to N40m to buy me a form
“But today, it has become a reality. There are over 200 million Nigerians, but you chose to accord me this honour and privilege, and I don’t take this for granted. I really want to appreciate this family; I register my appreciation to all Nigerians for this confidence.”
He said Nigeria needed leaders with capacity, sincerity of purpose, selflessness and readiness to make sacrifices.
“Money is a principal thing. Nigeria today needs someone who understands money. It is unfortunate that if we are looking for an MD of a particular company, the CV we seek spans three or four pages, but when we are looking for a President of the country, based on the constitution, all we need is a WASSCE certificate and no experience,” Emmanuel said.
He lamented that premium was not paid to the leader in whose hands lie the destiny of over 200 million people, as it would be done for a managing director of a company that had only a few shareholders and stakeholders, adding that there was a need for certain things to be corrected in 2023, so that the country could move forward.
The presidential aspirant reminded his guests of the importance of God in the business of leadership and expressed the hope that the group had sought the consent of God before embarking on the venture.
“Rest assured that I have accepted the form. All Nigerians cannot come together to give me something and I will refuse; anyone with the experience of running a state in Nigeria for eight years can pilot the affairs of the country,” the governor added.
In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Orji, said although Emmanuel was not the only one hosted on the programme, but after they came to Akwa Ibom and discovered more than what they had heard from the governor on the interview programme, it was decided that the station would buy the nomination form for him.
“We all agreed that if you can do these in a state, if given that opportunity, you will do even better at the national level. We don’t believe in too much talk, so here today we are presenting to you the presidential nomination form of your party,” he stated.
Also speaking, a member of the delegation and former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Buhari Bala, said the Brekete Family crew, who had interviewed the governor in a live studio programme in January, came to Akwa Ibom for three days to witness even more projects than Emmanuel had disclosed to them.
He said, “After that programme, the Brekete Family sent a delegation to Akwa Ibom State. Members of the team spent about three days here and sent in a report, and what they said they found on the ground was more than what you told them during the live programme.
“For that reason, a decision was taken by the family that when the time comes, they will contribute money and purchase a form for you to contest as the President of Nigeria. And true to their words, when the PDP started selling forms, they went there and surprisingly paid and collected the form.”
