The Emir of Katsina, HRM Alhaji Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman, has given a strong backing to the aspiration of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, towards succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Emir stated that the experience of the vice president in the present administration made him a better and more prepared candidate than other aspirants running to be the president of the country in 2023.

He made this known during the homage visit by the Vice President to his palace on Saturday. The Vice President was in Katsina State to meet the delegates ahead of the All Progressives Congress scheduled to hold on May 29 – 30 in Abuja.

The Emir said: “Take it from me, we are behind you strongly and we will try as much as possible support you.

“Someone with your experience is a better person than someone who is very new to the administration. So, you are on board already.”

The foremost traditional ruler also advised the Vice President Osinbajo on consultations with the grassroots and dissemination of information.

“You need some touches; the touches you need are consultations. We are the grassroots; you consult the traditional institution and you go with them.

“Information dissemination is very vital in any administration; when you lose it, you lose the glamour. You will succeed if you have that information dissemination, Insha Allah,” he stated.

He prayed for the success of the vice president to succeed President Buhari.

“You have to come on board seriously no matter what; no matter the difficulty, do it. Allah will be you; we shall all be with you.

“Your board is completed; I am sure Insha Allah, by the Grace of God, you are going to make it. We shall pray for you with all our heart; take it from us,” the Emir concluded.

Earlier, the Vice President had expressed his gratitude to the Emir for the warm hospitality given to him whenever he is in the State.

He notified the traditional ruler that he was in Katsina to consult with the State delegates who are involved in the selection process of the flag-bearer of the APC in the forthcoming general elections.

He said, “Your highness, I have put myself forward to run as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to succeed by the Grace of God, our very able President, Muhammadu Buhari when on May 29, 2023, he leaves office for a new government. I put myself forward for the reason that I have served under his tutelage for the past seven years and on a number of occasions, I have also acted as president.

“During that period, the president has exposed me to all that there is to know about governing a complex and diverse country such as ours. I want to say that I have learnt; there is considerable experience; and the key issues that concern our country today—issues of security, issues of the economy are issues that I believe we can do very well and I am in a position to do quite a lot on.”

The vice president assured that he has learnt a lot during the last seven years and that he has the information and knowledge to deal with the Nigerian challenges.

“I was speaking earlier to delegates and explaining to them what we are doing about security especially about re-engineering our security architecture—hiring more men into the Armed Forces and Police and obtaining more equipment.

“The problem of security, we know affect the economy as well; it affects farmers who are in the rural areas; it affects so many other things but we know that these are problems that will be resolved and will be solved by human beings like ourselves not by spirits.

“So, this is one of the reasons why I have put myself forward to serve as president of Nigeria when the time comes in 2023,” the vice president affirmed.