As we move into the New Year 2023, we need to remind ourselves that Nigeria is a great nation, a huge and vast nation strategically positioned on the African Continent. Nigeria is a country that the rest of the world takes very seriously not only because of our size and population, important as these are, but also because our people are very vibrant and very active. Our people are great achievers within and outside the country.

It is also an unassailable fact that Nigerians have demonstrated that we are a resilient people despite the challenges facing us. Nigerians have faced many challenges in the past and of course we did overcome them. True, there are limits to what humans can endure, but even then, Nigerians have shown again and again that they love their country in spite of all the minuses.

Undoubtedly, our economy is in dire straits. Prices of goods and services have continued to escalate unabated. These factors have direct implications for low-income earners and the poor masses of Nigerians.

The problems of insecurity has also persisted. Now, fear, anger and despair are on the rise. Many people are losing hope in the country, many more people are losing hope in democracy and even worst, many people are losing hope in themselves.

Nonetheless, our nation is undergoing a transition period leading to the general elections within the next few months. Nigerians are hoping that the situation of the country will begin to turn around for the better while we are also working hard and praying as leaders and major stakeholders that things should turn round for the better.

As we move towards the 2023 General Elections, we do hope that the challenges we face today will serve as lessons for all Nigerians not to repeat the graveous mistakes of 2015 .

Yes, our religions, our ethnicity, and our regions are essential and intergral parts of our society, but the devaluation of politics into the issues of religion and ethnicity is not what the country needs today. Rather, what Nigerians deserve and demand are Leaders that can lead our great country out of where we are today. Nigerian do not need tribal Leaders, we do not need ethnic champions and certainly, we do not need religious bigots, the very people who drove this country to the brink of near collapse. Nigerians deserve and demand the kind of Leaders who can lead the whole country as one nation, one people with common destiny within the African Continent. Nigerians say No, to, This is My Turn Politics !

Nigerians have demonstrated before that the country can triumph even in moments of anger, deprivation and poverty. Nigerians have shown their resilience to overcome challenges. It is imperative therefore for Nigerians to critically analyze any candidate soliciting their votes and ask themselves if this candidate is the right person to lead Nigeria and if he has the pedigree, the integrity, the capacity and the care and concern for their future.

I call on Nigerians not to despair nor lose hope in our country and our democracy because, no matter the flipside of democracy, it is still the best system of government that allows citizens to participate in the selection of their leaders.

Our democracy may not be perfect. Truth is that no democracy is perfect. Democracy in fact is a process, that involves a series of actions and interactions and democracy is a goal all nations seek to achieve. Indeed, here in Nigeria democracy is work in progress.

As the political transition program advances, we have noted with deep concern the widespread news of some politicians violently attacking their opponents. This is not suppose to be so. We equally condemn the killings of INEC personel and the massive destruction of INEC assets nationwide. These unti-democratic forces must be urgently tamed to ensure peaceful conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

We call on all Nigerian security agencies to stand firm against those politicians who are bent on abandoning the rules that guide our electoral processes, just as they have subverted the Agreements signed by all the Leaders of Political Parties and their Presidential Candidates on 27th September 2022 under the close watch of the National Peace Committee.

We commend the INEC for doing everything possible to modernize and transform the Nigerian election system despite all the challenges and obstacles. We trust INEC will continue to record even more overwhelming successes as it continues to introduce new technologies and modern strategies into the election process. It must however do everything possible to avoid unnecessary mistakes that might threaten the credibility of the elections.

We also call on all political party leaders, civil society organizations, the media, the Ulamahs, the Clergies and all other critical stakeholders in Nigeria to stand on the side of the rule of law and justice. We must all work together to ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2023.

All political leaders must also be bound to accept the verdict of the electoral umpire – and on no account should anyone come afterwards to undermine the credibility of the forthcoming 2023 elections, because the whole world is watching. We must do everything to possible redeem our image in the global community. I wish to call on all Nigerians to stand out to be counted, particularly at this point in our nation’s history.

We in the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are pleased to present to you our Presidential Candidate, Sen Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso Ph. D. for the 2023 Presidential Elections. This is a leader you can trust, a Patriot, a Go-getter, an achiever, a Leader with compassion and a Leader with impeccable and unquestionable records of service to his Fatherland. We are determined to rescue our nation and save our democracy.

I wish us all a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2023 !!

God bless Nigeria, and Happy New Year To All Nigerians.

Professor Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali
National Chairman,
New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).