Former Cross River Governor might run for president in 2019

Former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, has hinted that he may contest in the 2019 presidential race because he has what it takes to lead the country.

According to a report by Vanguard, Duke made this revelation while speaking at the third Mike Omotosho annual lecture titled, "Millennials as Protagonists in Nation Building" in Abuja on Sunday, January 14, 2018.

He said, "I am entitled to run for the presidency of this country. Only on right circumstances I will aspire for it. I don't shy away from responsibility, I will aspire for presidency of this country. I have what it takes to be president of this country.

"It is high time Nigerians begun to project people with the technical know-how to take the country to the Promised Land."

Even though he wasn't specific about when he'll contest, he promised that it will happen at "the right time and circumstance."

Duke further challenged the youths in the country to participate more actively in politics to help contribute better in the act of nation-building, and said Nigeria's problem with governance is just a case of disconnection.

He said, "I hear young people say to me that why would they spend hours queuing and casting their votes when at the end their votes won't count. And I tell that if their parents conceived them they never gave up on them considering the high mortality rate, so why would they not take a chance in building this nation?

"We had young leadership at one stage or the other. Even in our first republic, besides the likes of Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, M. T. Mbu was in his twenties when he became a minister.

"Gowon was 30 when he became the head of state. It comes back to the disaster therein because most of them didn't have experience in governance, which led us into war.

"We need the combination of both. What I think we should be doing is to ensure a government that is youth-friendly to provide opportunities because we need to groom the next set of leadership.

"The challenge we have today is the disconnect. That is the challenge of the governance today. Because if you speak with the folks in government, and I am being candid here, I think we should stop to deceive ourselves here and stop all these political correctness."

"There is disconnecting between the president and even the ministers."

Duke served two terms as the governor of Cross River State between 1999 and 2007.

2019 presidential race

Duke joins the growing list of prominent Nigerians who have dropped hints that they may contest in the 2019 presidential elections.

Founder of the Latter Rain Assembly, PastorTunde Bakare revealed to his congregation on January 1, 2018, that God wants him to run for president despite his plan to quit politics for good. He also failed to reveal if he'll contest in 2019 or later in the future.

Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose,remains the only candidate to have officially declared his intention to contest the 2019 presidential election after his announcement in September 2017.

Even though President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to officially declare his reelection bid, he has also dropped hints over the past two months, and is expected to face former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who is also in contention.