Female PDP aspirant makes case for woman president

As the 2019 election is approaching, more women are beginning to express interest in contesting the presidential election on different political platforms.

One of such women, Princess Oyenike Oyedele Roberts, who recently expressed willingness to run for the apex political post in the country on the platform of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Nigeria would do better under the leadership of a female president.

Roberts, a United States-based professional, said the major setback to Nigeria’s development is corruption.

She stressed that until something drastic is done to check graft, the country will continue to face challenges.

In an interaction with The Guardian recently, the PDP female presidential hopeful vowed not to accept donation from anyone labeled with corruption to fund her campaign.

She said, “To do that would make it difficult to fight corruption as I intend to.”

She said the reason she is into the race on the PDP platform is that it is the most liberal party that gives equal opportunity to everybody to express his or her aspiration.

The PDP aspirant, whose campaign slogan is ‘Hope 2019’, said her cardinal focus would be to provide the country with uninterrupted power supply, quality healthcare for all, creation of a million jobs every year, quality and affordable education and security of lives and property.

While she noted that the major hindrance to Nigeria’s growth, upon which all other setbacks rest is the lopsided structure of government, Roberts said the Nigerian president in the next political dispensation must have the will to restructure the country to true federalism.

“This is when we can realise our potential as a people.”

Although, the platform on which she is trying to realise her ambition is labeled with corruption when it was in power for 16 years, Robbers urged Nigerians to trust her integrity, not just as a woman but also as someone that has been exposed to international politics and best practices.

According to her, “I am not tainted by any act of corruption.”

Roberts said PDP is poised for a major shift ahead of 2019, claiming it was the party to beat and a viable platform because it had national appeal and spread.

She also emphasised on security, saying the security situation in the country where people are being killed freely and crimes pervade the country in the last three years would be adequately addressed under her leadership.

The PDP presidential aspirant also promised to critically look into unemployment particularly the youths and also to focus on issues affecting women.

According to her, “Youth and women are the strength of any society.

The youth are the future hope of any giving country while women in their capacity mould the country.”