Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said that he served faithfully as deputy to President Muhammadu Buhari in the last seven years and the latter reciprocated by showing him “everything” he needed to see in government.
This experience and exposure qualified him to succeed President Buhari in 2023, the VP said.
Osinbajo stated this on Friday in Osun, where he canvassed for votes from delegates of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state ahead of the party’s primary slated for May 29.
Speaking with newsmen after meeting with delegates behind closed doors, the vice-president said that he had all that was required in terms of the knowledge and experience to be the next president.
“I pushed myself forward for the position of president of this country because I had served for seven years as vice- president.
“Within those seven years, I served President Muhammadu Buhari faithfully and he had responded by ensuring that I see everything that I needed to see in government. I even acted as acting president several times.
“Within that period, there is nothing that is required by way of knowledge or experience to govern a country as diverse and complex as Nigeria that I have not come across.
“I have worked in every possible way to ensure victory, success and progress for our party.
“Today, there are many challenges facing this country, one of which is security. No government in Nigeria has ever been confronted with the kind of security challenge that we are facing now. None,” he said.
Osinbajo further stated that since the civil war, no government had faced the security challenge that the country was facing, even to the extent of deploying military personnel across the country.
“With the complexity of the country, I have learnt many things in the last seven years, and with what I will still learn, I will hit the ground running from the first day, if I am elected as president.
“I don’t have to look for any fact because I am already equipped for the position.
“If anybody gets to government at state level without any experience, it will take him more than one-and-a-half years to get his bearing.
“If such a person gets to the federal level, it will take him more than two years to understand the complexity. But as for me, I can hit the ground running from day one because I have the required experience,” he said.