2023 Presidency: Bakare declares, roll out four pillar agenda

Ahead of the May 30 presidential primary of the All progressives Congress (APC) senior pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare on Monday officially declared his intention to run for the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria under the ruling All progressive Congress (APC).

Bakare who picked his expression of interest and nomination forms of 100 million naira last week Thursday joined the growing list of aspirants vying for the highest seat.

The presidential hopeful said he is committed to the realisation of a new Nigeria as he categorized his agenda into four pillars, namely; Peace, Progress, Prosperity and Possibilities.

The trained lawyer opined that the inadequacies of the Nigerian experience propelled him to seek for lasting solutions to the issues on ground.

“Today,I am offering myself to close the distance between the Nigerian reality and every Nigerian dream; to unlock the power of public policy to accelerate transformation; to infuse our young people with a surge of hope for what is possible ; to roll my sleeves up and work to solve Nigeria’s most intractable problems; to build a cutting edge nation at the forefront of innovation ; to create a new dynamic of belonging in which everyone has a seat and a say; I am committed to the realisation of A New Nigeria for Every Nigerian in my lifetime”.

On the four priority areas, he said, “the Peace Mandate will achieve our policy thrust on Nationhood, Leadership, Governance and National Security. Through the Peace Mandate, we will reconcile and reintegrate the Nigerian people into true nationhood; galvanise a broad-based and competent leadership that can unify Nigeria and harness our enormous potential; lead our nation on a pragmatic pathway to governance structure reforms; end the scourge of insecurity; and guarantee the safety and security of every Nigerian within Nigeria’s borders.

“Through the Progress Mandate, we will cater for Human Development Sectors including Education, Healthcare and Family and Social Development. Under the Progress Mandate, we will alleviate poverty in the short-term by offering safety nets to our most vulnerable while implementing long-term poverty eradication policies. We will also
develop a healthy and highly skilled workforce that will drive our national growth and development objectives. Furthermore, under this mandate, we will protect the vulnerable and foster equity and social inclusiveness in access to opportunities.

“The Prosperity Mandate will cater to our policy thrust on Economic Management and Infrastructure Delivery. We will achieve the Prosperity Mandate by launching the Nigerian Geoeconomic Development Plan (N-GDP) on day one of my inauguration as president. The N-GDP is a new way of looking at our GDP; therefore, you would be right to refer to it as the New GDP. Guided by the N-GDP, we will rebuild Nigeria’s economy around six competitive geoeconomic zones, triple Nigeria’s GDP to $1.5 trillion by 2030, and industrialise Nigeria around the hub-and-spoke model of industrialisation. This will see the emergence of industrial cities in each geoeconomic zone made of several industrial clusters. The industrial clusters will in turn be linked to feeder hubs and enterprise zones in the respective regions. The N-GDP will guide our policies, institutions, and investments across various sectors including Solid Minerals, Agriculture, Manufacturing, and SMEs.

“The Possibilities Mandate will cater to our policy thrust in Science, Technology and Innovation; Foreign Policy; Sustainability; and Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Sports (ACETS). The objectives of the Possibilities Mandate include Nigeria’s leapfrogging as a leader in the fourth industrial revolution as well as our emergence as a global hub of creative and cultural industries.

“It also includes projecting the elements of Nigeria’s national power in defence of our national interest, protecting Nigerian citizens across the globe, and providing leadership on the African continent.”