6th January, 2022
The Southeast Destiny Movement for Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2023 (SDMBAT), says it supports calls for Tinubu to run for President in 2023.
SDMBAT, said Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, has the pedigree to pioneer the affairs of Nigeria from 2023.
Chief Ekene Enefe, Convener of SDMBAT, expressed the group’s support at a news conference in Awka on Thursday.
Enefe described Tinubu, one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, as a good man who deserved to be encouraged to make things happen positively for the country.
He said the group had assessed the value Tinubu had brought into Nigerian politics, economic and infrastructure foundation laid in Lagos and more importantly, the manpower built during and after his reign as governor of the state.
According to him, Tinubu is one of the most detribalised Nigerians who as a governor, had appointees from every part of the country.
“He is one man that believes in merit, if you have the competence he is looking for, he engages you, that is the kind of man Nigeria needs now,” he said.
Enefe said SDMBAT supported the call because what the country needed in the next president was capacity, competence, experience and national acceptability
He said there was nothing wrong with having a president of southeast extraction but it should not be one spearheaded by selfish politicians and ethic champions.
”I don’t think we need ethnic champions now, what we need in Nigeria is a good leader who is informed, can harness and allocate the resources of the country equitably.
“We cannot continue to advocate for a president that is based on ethnicity. There was a time when people from southeast occupied good positions in government but it did not translate into improved infrastructure in the region.
“As a matter of fact, some of the champions of the president from southeast extraction are doing it for selfish reasons.
”How have they used their former opportunities to better the lot of the people in their immediate environment,” he asked.
The convener further said that SDMBAT was largely made up of youths desirous of national cohesion and progress with presence at the grassroots in the southeast region.
He noted that the group had contact with every community in southeast, had been existing but decided to provide its platform for Tinubu because he represented a better opportunity for APC and better leadership for Nigeria because of his proven experiences.