The presidential ambition of former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, got a tremendous boost on Wednesday as former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, threw his formidable weight behind it. Babangida said he will support Saraki, describing him as the right man to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
The former military strongman was responding to a request from a delegation of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS), National Campaign Advocacy Council led by its Chairman, Prof Hagher Iorwuese and Director- General, Chief Osaro Onaiwu, who were at his Minna Hill top residence to seek support for Saraki. Babangida, who did not hide his admiration for Saraki did not mince words, but equated him to a Self-Propelled (SP) artillery gun, an abbrevia-tion for Senate President, whose credentials and personality speak for him. According to Babangida: “Many aspirants had come and will come here.
But a young man of his (Saraki) status who knows the country well should lead the country for maximum results. “Am glad to have found people who have defined who a true Nigerian leader should be. This definition was lacking. Am happy you have identified someone who can do the job. The narrative has to change. I know your client very well. I am part of him. His father was very close to me. “You have zeroed on a good candidate. I call him SP. In the artillery we have a Self-Propelled gun called SP with strategic responsibility and functions. That is who he is.”
