President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has downplayed rumours which emerged over the weekend that he is ready to jostle for the number one seat in the land in the forthcoming presidential election.
This is as the lawmaker described the reports as speculative and mere imagination.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that Lawan who hails from Yobe State has decided to vie for the presidency as he’s set to pick the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) to contest for the presidency, this week.
However, while addressing the state house reporters after joining other residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Lawan rejected to be drawn in such speculations, adding that his main focus remain on the implementation of the 2022 budget.
According to the Senate president, people can only contest for elections when the economy is stabilize, hence he won’t be carried away by politics to neglect his duties to the citizens of the country.
In his words, “I thought you were going to ask me about what we want to do in 2022. We passed the budget for 2022, a budget for consolidation of what we have been able to achieve in 2020, when we had an implementation of 100%.
“2022 has just finished, another 100% implementation of budget and we’re looking forward to ensure that the 2022 budget is also implemented by 100%.
“If we stabilize our economy, we stabilize our country, then people can contest, but for now everything is speculative and I believe that God, in His infinite mercy, will show us the way.
“Today, we are happy to say that we’re still making progress, but would have done far better if we hadn’t had the COVID interruption.
“So, I believe that as a nation, we are moving in the right direction and President Muhammadu Buhari is giving us the leadership that we need and all that we need to do is to continue to support our leaders, continue to support our government and it’s in the best interest of everyone.
“Let no politics, let no partisanship, let no sentiments derail any of our programmes and projects because you need to have a Nigeria first if you are running to take over government at whatever level. You need to have a country, you need to have a stable country, you need to have a peaceful country in first place and if you do that, you can contest, for example. But as individuals, we have a date with a history.
“How much do we give to our nation? How much do we sacrifice for the sake of others in our communities and in our country? That determines a lot how far we can go because if we decide to be selfish, then I’m sorry, we may not make that kind of progress that we believe can take us to the Eldorado,” he added.
