A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has joined the 2023 presidential race.
According to Olawepo-Hashim, who will be picking his nomination and expression of interest forms in Thursday, the country is presently “gripped in the claws of insecurity, worsening energy crises due to absence of local refining of Petroleum products, and inadequate electricity generation, transmission and distribution, a new and better Nigeria is still possible.”
He said “current political trajectory of the country is dim and dark, as deep ethnic cleavages and bigotry have dominated the landscape accentuating the crises, undermining any initiative for a cohesive national redemption.”
“I have stepped out to ignite that fire, in my decision to seek the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the 2023 elections.
“Mine is not an ambition but a historic burden. It is a burden imposed on me right from my late teens when as an undergraduate youth activist, my generation committed ourselves to the struggle for social and economic development of Nigeria, as well as to the struggle for democratic rule.”
Olawepo-Hashim who contested in the 2019 election on the platform of the Alliance for New Nigeria, ANN, said he will bridge the existing divides in the nation, heal the wounds and bring our nation back together again.
“By reason of accident, my father came from Northern Nigeria and my mother from the South. Half of my family are Christians while the other half are Muslims.
“I have lived and schooled in both North and South as well as in Europe and America. I know that all human beings are born equal and deserving of equal rights, opportunities and justice.
“I will do justice to all without discrimination on account of ethnicity, religion and gender. This is not another empty promise of another politician. It is who I am,” he said.
