By Cross Udo
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has enthused that in terms of preparation for the office of President in 2023, he is the most prepared to take over the mantle of leadership of the country from President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osinbajo stated this on Wednesday night when he hosted State House Correspondents to a breaking of fast (Iftar) at his Aguda residence in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He told journalists that news of his nomination as running mate to then-candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election came to him as a surprise.

The Vice President, a professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is one of over 10 people seeking to be the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in the February 2023 presidential election.

He said he was working on a case of a defection of a federal lawmaker at the Supreme Court when he learned of his nomination.

According to him, “I was working on the case at Peniel Apartments in Abuja on December 18, 2014, when at about 1 a.m. in the morning, I received a call from Rauf Aregbesola that they were coming to Lagos to pick me.

“I said I was in Abuja. He said “Good, because you have been nominated as the vice-presidential candidate”, and I said, “Is that how you nominate people?”

The vice president added that after his case that day, he returned to his hotel accommodation in the city. He said immediately after he removed his wig, he was hit with a feeling that “this is probably the last time I will be wearing it.”

He said the current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, later in the day took him to the presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

Osinbajo said he was telling his story to the journalists to let them know that an individual’s life can change at any minute, adding that he always believed in and worked for a better Nigeria all his life, and that his decision to run for the office of president in the 2023 election is to enable him to make a difference.

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He said very few people have the kind of training and experience that he has, and that, in terms of preparedness for the job, he stands out amongst all other aspirants vying for the APC presidential ticket ahead of May’s primary elections.

“I have been given opportunities that many may not have had. I think those opportunities are meant to be for a particular purpose. And I think that time has come. This is the time when all of my experiences have now come to the fore. And I will use all of what I have to serve this country.

“This is really one of the reasons why I chose to run. There are those who may say ‘well, he’s just a politician speaking. But I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that I believe that we have a real opportunity here to do something different for our country.

“I know everyone else who is running for office. Frankly, to tell you the honest truth, just in terms of preparation for the job, I don’t think I need to make a case. In terms of preparation for the job, no one else comes close to me.”

He further explained that the Iftar with the journalists was the first he was holding with a group that will not vote during the party primaries.

Osinbajo, however, stoked laughter from the newsmen when he said: “I am probably meeting you for your financial contribution.”

“I don’t know why you think it’s a joke,” he said, eliciting more laughter from the journalists.

The vice president at the dinner sought the support of the journalists in his ambition.

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Speaking earlier, the interim chairman of the State House Press Corps, Ismaila Chafe, told Osinbajo that many members of the corps have been reporting from the Presidential Villa for over a decade.

According to him, “We have seen presidents and vice presidents come and go. But with profound humility, we can say that you have made a difference in the way you have related with the State House Press Corps.

“We can recall that not long after you assumed office, you gathered us here in this same hall for an engaging interaction. The memory of that meeting still lingers in us. And since then, you have maintained a close relationship with the corps.”

Continuing, Chaffe said the press corps identified with the vision of the vice president, especially his “supportive roles to ensure that this administration leaves a lasting legacy.”

“As a corps, we will continue to play our role in the most dispassionate way,” he said.