By Chimezie Godfrey
The Project Nigeria Group ( PNG) has declared Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba as APC’s best candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
The PNG made the declaration in a statement jointly signed by its National Cordinator, Prof. Armayau Hamisu Bichi and National Secretary, Comrade Chinedu Ogubuike at a world press conference on Friday in Abuja.
The Group pointed out that Nwajiuba who is a non – tribalistic technocrat has the capacity to strengthen the nation into a united, indivisible and functional entity.
According to the group, Nwajiuba who is a man of vision and an astute fellow full of developmental ideas and cohesive reasonings, is equally a bridge builder between the young and the old, the north and the south and the various ethnic and religious diversities.
In the light of the foregoing, among many rare qualities possessed by Nwajiuba, the PNG therefore without fear or favour proudly declared him the best amongst all the APC presidential aspirants.
The Group said,”We are here today to project a personality and a force that has yearned for years for the strengthening of the nation called Nigeria into a united,indivisible and functional entity in the world.
“We are here to present a non-tribalistic technocrat who has the needed capacity, intellectual embodiment and the political goodwill to harness this nation into becoming the true giant of the largest continent on earth – Africa.
“We are presenting a man of vision and an astute fellow full of developmental ideas and cohesive reasonings.
“We are presenting to our country, Nigeria a man who is a bridge builder between the young and the old, the north and the south and the various ethnic and religious diversities.
“He has the energy and strength to occupy Nigerian Presidency and meet up the demands of such office at a time like this. He has the needed character, capacity, candour,competence and capability for the exalted office.
“Yes,we’re talking about a Nigerian President of Southeast Extraction who must be willing to serve and sieve the odds in order to give this country the best of governance. Yes, a man with zero corruption and astute indices as his benchmark ideals. We see all these in Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.”
On why they choose to pitch their tent with him over other candidates hustling for the exalted position, the PNG said,”Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba is a well-trained lawyer, politician and an administrator per excellence. He has been in active politics for over thirty years.
“He has been an elected member of the Nigerian House of Representatives for three times,where he had served as Chairman, House Committee on Works and Housing as well as an active member of several other committees in the house.
“He was also a trailblazer in the sponsorship of bills on issues of national interest.
“He has maintained consistency in his political ideologies. As a youth,he understands the essence of building a perfect political fence which must direct his vision correctly.
“He truly supported President Muhammadu Buhari in 2003 when he contested the Presidency under ANPP and that same year he emerged as Imo State Governorship Candidate of ANPP.
“After that political trudging with all it’s attendant vehemence, Nwajiuba waited to know his next good political move.
“It was an ellipsis time to get more academic experience for his future political engagements.
“He later proceeded to join force with his respected political father, President Muhammadu Buhari,in 2010 to form another national political party known as Congress for Progressive Change (CPC),which he later became Imo State Governorship Candidate of the party in the year 2011.
“With all that played out then, he wasn’t deterred but continued in the belief that he must give out his best when the actual time comes.
“He has also been in the mainstream push for a Nigeria that must thrive on rule of law in a multiethnic and multi-religious setting. Thus, in 2014, he represented his party, CPC, in the Constitution Drafting and Merger Committee of the All Progressive Congress, APC. His contributions helped in greater ways in the proper development of the merger apparatus that culminated in the formation of the APC today.
“He has served and still serving this country with all his might and has brought to bare his experiential candours in making policy acts. In 2017, he became the first person from the Igbo stock, Southeast of Nigeria, to be appointed by the President of Nigeria as the Executive Chairman of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND); an office he held and worked to turnaround the state of our tertiary institutions to become more standardized in research and physical development.”
The Group equally recalled that in 2019, he had to resign as the Executive Chairman of TETFUND to run for the House of Representatives,which he won.
According to them, considering his deep desire to continue his unwavering service to this country, he spent only two months in the House of Representatives because he was appointed again by President Muhamadu Buhari as the Honourable Minister of State for Education, a position he currently holds in the country.
“Many people criticised his decision to leave an elected office for a mere appointment. Yes, that is Nwajiuba for you.
“He is interested in national service more than a sectional representation that will not touch the whole nation. He is not interested in the various largesse that come in House of Representatives. He is a true Nigerian and he has often advocated for selflessness in political service,” they noted.
The PNG revealed that there are various reasons why they have choosen Nwajiuba as APC’s best among the numerous aspirants, which includes the fact that he is well educated and has been a voice for the advocacy of good governance and strict adherence to the nation’s constitutional development and rights, among others.
The Group said,”Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba is well educated in law; a field he professionally holds sway with much commitments. He is an erudite scholar and researcher in academics. His field is Civil Law, an area he read to the doctorate. He attended Imo State University, University of Lagos and University of Jos where he garnered his LL.B, LL.M and LL.D.
“He practices law in politics and policy formulation. He has been a voice for the advocacy of good governance and strict adherence to the nation’s constitutional development and rights.”
The PNG also pointed out that he has been a national teamplayer in politics and has the needed wide connections to build a strong nation.
According to the Group, he is a developmental politician who stands out amongst the best and the rest in the quest for the Presidency, and therefore declared him the best from the rest aspirants for Nigera’s Presidency come 2023.
“Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba is the man the job needs and not the man that needs the job.
“He’s one of the best from the rest of aspirants for Nigeria’s 2023 Presidency. At 54, his resume speak volumes of achievements with zero corruption.
“His expanse of political coverage has no leanings on ethnic bigotry. He’s an Igbo in acts and pacts but with a vision to use his Igboness to cohere the nation in greater strides.
“In the east, he is the star, in the west he is the starlight and in the north he is the galaxy. He is the force for the breaking off of hatred and ethnicism and building up of strong alliances for our national development.
“The real question now is: What are we looking for in the actualization of a Nigerian President of Southeast Extraction or How do we actualise the dream of a Nigerian President of Southeast Extraction?
“There’s no other voice so loud and clear and no other selfless leader so committed to the growth of our nation like Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba. The better choice for APC is Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba. Let’s give him our support!,” the PNG declared.
