By Jude Opara
Ahead of the expected primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a group within the party, known as the “Team Rebuild” on Tuesday said with the rising spate of insecurity and dwindling economic fortunes, the rightful person for the office of the president is Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
Convener of the group, Dr. Ebekue Tim Ebekue at a press conference on Tuesday said as the 2027 general elections draw nearer, the country has been presented a credible option with the entry of Hayatu-Deen into the race.
He also took a swipe at the federal government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the numerous troubles the people are passing through, adding that with the level of debasement of the economy, the next administration will be inheriting a huge debt burden.
“Kidnapping and banditry have become a plague, and the impunity of those who profit from violence grows more brazen by the day. More than 70% of our population has been pushed into multidimensional poverty, making Nigeria effectively the poverty capital of the world. Over 20 million children are out of school. More than 40% of children under five suffer stunted growth from malnutrition. Rising food inflation has made a daily meal an aspiration for millions of families.
“The next president of Nigeria will inherit an economy in distress, a security architecture in collapse, and institutions that have been systematically weakened. Fixing this will require more than goodwill and good intentions. It will require someone who understands how economies are rebuilt, how institutions are strengthened, and how trust between a government and its people is restored”.
Ebekue added that despite dwindling fortunes of the country under their watch, the APC administration has continued to allegedly use the judiciary and other law enforcement agencies to strangulate the opposition parties.
“And yet, rather than answer for this record, the ruling APC continues to deploy the judiciary and law enforcement as instruments of political suppression, strangling the opposition and engineering a one-party state.
On the qualities that qualifies Hayatu-Deen for the topmost job in the land, the group said he stands apart, not by declaration, but by record from all other aspirants.
“His academic foundation spans economics, corporate strategy, governance, and global leadership. He does not just understand how the world works. He has spent decades making things work within it.
“His private sector record crosses banking, manufacturing, aviation, cement, textiles, and hospitality, including leadership roles at marquee institutions such as the Nigerian Stock Exchange. These are not ceremonial positions. They are proof of the capacity to build, manage, and deliver.
“At the national level, he has shaped economic policy as Chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee on Economy’s and Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. When Nigeria needed serious minds in serious rooms, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen was there.
He carries no corruption baggage. He has no political vendetta to prosecute. He arrives with one agenda: to fix Nigeria”.
Ebekue also added that before joining the ADC, Hayatu-Deen did his homework properly and understands what it takes to vie for the highest office in the land via the platform of the party.
