Dogara: I am more concerned with Nigerian challenges than 2023

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said he is more concerned with how Nigeria can tackle its present challenges than 2023.

Dogara, in a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesman, Turaki Hassan, was reacting to pictures showing him as possible presidential running mate to APC Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023.

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The former speaker, who said the reaction was to stop the further spread of the “deliberate mischief” whose objective was yet to be ascertained, advised people to disregard and discountenance the purported story and pictures as the handiwork of “mischief makers”.

He said no political party sold nomination and expression of interest forms for the post of a running mate as he/she is only appointed or selected by a flag bearer, adding that “It is therefore preposterous for anyone to claim that someone is running for the position of VP when no flag-bearer has emerged.

“His Excellency, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, is busy helping to rebuild and reposition the APC in Bauchi State and wishes to be allowed to focus on just that,” the statement read.

“It has come to our notice that stories and images are being circulated on social media to the effect that His Excellency, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, is running for the office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for President in 2023.

“Our initial decision was to ignore them since they are utterly baseless. But it appears that the promoters of this fallacy are unrelenting in spreading the falsehood and have now succeeded in making it sound believable to the extent that even some conventional and ‘credible’ media platforms are beginning to take it up….”

The statement added that “2023 is still years away and, therefore, it is unnecessary, distracting and insensitive to start making unfounded declarations at this time when all hands ought to be on deck in tackling the challenges of our nationhood.”