US-based hospitality manager, Nike Roberts, has declared interest to run for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Roberts recently addressed supporters in New York, during which she promised not to accept any donation from corrupt Nigerians to fund her campaign.
A GoFundMe account she opened in May with a goal of $100,000 has generated $105 in one month.
She named the five cardinal points of her aspiration to be uninterrupted power supply, quality healthcare for all, creation of one million jobs annually, quality affordable education and security of lives and property.
Borrowing from the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Roberts has chosen Hope 2019 as her campaign slogan.
“Our political system is driven by money and that’s why we have the kind of leadership. The system should be driven by meritocracy – what you know to do, how to do it and the will to do it.
“That is what should drive people; it’s not how much money you have or how much money you can invest in a person that you can control at the end of the day.
“That’s what gave rise to the God-fatherism notion that it is who you know that gets you to the top. That system has continued for so long.
“But I’m seeing a new breed of leaders coming; a change that’s going to cause a shift in how we do politics in Nigeria. We don’t allow meritocracy to rule; we allow money to rule,” she said.
The 50-something-year-old Osun-born presidential aspirant said at the centre of her heart is the security of lives and property.
“We must secure the borders to prevent illegal infiltration and activities
“As a matter of urgency, the National Identity system must be concluded in order to account for every individual in the national database.
“This will put face to crime and assist law enforcement agencies to deliver efficient services. I will also move for the professionalism of law enforcement agencies through inter-agency cooperation and improve their welfare,” she said.
Roberts claims she has support base in all the 774 Local government areas in Nigeria and expects the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a credible poll in 2019.
A product of Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls’ Secondary School, Lagos, Roberts left Nigeria to study hotel management in the United Kingdom.
She returned to Nigeria to work in the hospitality industry before leaving for the US where she attended Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia.
