2023: 40-year-old U.S-based pastor picks APC presidential form

 

A 40-year-old All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Nicholas Felix, has pledged to address security challenges in the country if elected in 2023.

Mr Felix, who stated this on Thursday in Abuja after purchasing his Nomination and Expression of Interest forms for the 2023 presidential election, said that securing a nation would have ripple effects on its economic stability.

The presidential aspirant, a U.S. based General Overseer and Founder of Miracle Center International Inc. said his dream was to take over the helms of affairs in Nigeria and make a change.

Mr Felix has the headquarters of his church in New York, the USA with branches in New Jersey, Texas Atlanta and West Africa (Nigeria).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presidential aspirant paid N65 million made up of N30 million for the Expression of Interest form and N35 million for the Nomination Form meant for the youth in APC.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC leadership for giving the youth a 50 per cent discount on the nomination form that enabled him to purchase it.

Mr Felix, who said he was the only youth to purchase the form to contest for the position of the president, said that addressing the challenge of insecurity would be his number one priority.

He said his intention to contest the country’s number one seat was to salvage the country and rescue it from the trenches for complete reformation.

“My decision to run for president of Nigeria stems from my desire to change the Nigerian narrative through the support of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run law.

“Also, bringing more young professionals home and abroad together to contribute toward the development of our great nation,” he said.

Mr Felix, a 2019 presidential candidate, described himself as a successful businessman, a philanthropist and pastor, who would reposition the country in the post-Buhari period.

He said he came third in the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Coalition Party (PCP) after President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, polling 110,196 votes.

He expressed optimism that APC would provide the platform for him to fulfil his dreams of the presidency and ultimately bring about the desired change the people wanted.

Mr Felix said he had companies in U.S. and Nigeria and had hired thousands of people and that he was quite comfortable with every standard.

The presidential aspirant disclosed that his number one agenda if elected president was the protection of the citizens’ lives and property.

He expressed concerns that security was currently in a mess in Nigeria and that the level of security a nation has would determine its prosperity.

“My primary aim and my number one agenda is security, and that is what I am bringing to the table trusting that 100 days after being sworn in, we will tackle insecurity with every force and every might.

“We have our military who are very strong, we need to empower them, equip them and give them the free will to be able to go and fight insurgency.

“I’m big on security. In America, I have a security company, where I have hired over 2,000 people. Security is my main strength.

“You must understand that there is no great economy without security, any country that is not safe, no matter how much you put in, you will not see it.

“For example, the moment Ukraine was invaded and the war started, the economy crashed, that tells you that when a nation is not safe, progress will be stalled.

According to him, Mexico and Canada border America, yet Mexicans are suffering. Security is number one, when the country is safe, the economy will boom.

“Every nation that wants to experience economic growth must make sure that the security is there because we need investors.

“Most times, politicians go around that when you elect me I am going to provide 20 million jobs, it is a lie, the position at the federal level is filled up, the position at the state level is filled up who is going to create job?

“It is the private sector that will create jobs and nobody will come to a nation that is not safe,” he said.

Mr Felix also promised to resolve the nation’s electricity challenges by exploring alternative energy sources while also fighting other infrastructure battles.

He said it was time for the youth to move into the political arena, saying the sole aim should not be limited to registering only to vote for preferred candidates.

He urged them to also become registered and active members of a political party with voting rights, and the opportunity to choose preferred candidates amongst aspirants, over the influence of political godfathers.

Mr Felix expressed concerns that Nigerian leaders, despite the changes they witnessed in other climes, never thought of replicating the same in the country.

He said that they took pleasure in sending their children to schools abroad while impoverishing the nation.

He promised to change the narratives if elected, stressing that he would provide the political will to do the job.

“What it requires is political will, our problem is not too complex, what we need is the political will to do the job,” he said.