I will build a Nigeria not based on tribe, religion – Kachikwu

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has called on Nigerians to rise up and redefine the country for good governance to be enthroned.

Kachikwu said Nigerians must promote competence and not primordial sentiments adding that he hopes to build a Nigeria not based on tribe and religion.

At a town hall meeting with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents, Kachikwu said Nigeria would no longer be associated with mediocrity, adding that the youths must dictate what happens in the country.

He said it is sad that millions of Nigerians still live without water and power, adding that there is no magic in providing such social amenities.

The presidential candidate who said Nigerians kept having different roles for different criminals, said If he emerged as president, he will send the Nigerian Patriots Act Bill to the National Assembly for passage, adding that public servants cannot use the same amenities they can’t provide for the public.

Kachikwu said if he emerged president, there won’t be generators, no boreholes in Nigerian homes, adding that light and water will be provided for all.

“We can’t borrow to build bridges that lead to nowhere. The internet is the thing that we can compete with the world,” he said.

“I now realise that I must be in the driver’s seat to make the changes needed in Aso Villa. I now understand that merely proposing and complaining are not enough: it is time to sit on this table. It is a table of inequity, injustice, iniquity and intolerance but when you sit at the head of the table you get to decide what the menu is going to be. This is the seat I seek to occupy so that together we can chart a new course for our nation.

“Together we can design a new menu for our people. We will rebuild Nigeria from the ground up and do away with the faulty and archaic colonial foundation that now characterises our current existence. We must define our common charter as Nigerians and constitute a new nation that is not only inclusive for all but guarantees equal rights and expressions to all irrespective of tribe, tongue and religion. This new Nigeria must come first before any other identification. It will be our common bond as we do away with all colonial mistrust of division and hatred,” he said.