 The old Progressive's Congress in River State held a Thanksgiving service in Porta Corte recently. Party fatefuls in their thousands thronged the Adukia-Mesia-Marca stadium for the two-in-one event. The first spot featured prayers for the nation, victims of the recent Kaduna train attack and the party. Give us the riches of His grace, receiving us from the powers of darkness, and bringing us into the kingdom of His beloved. Mighty Father, you are lavish in bestowing all your gifts, and we give you thanks for the favours you have given us in your goodness, your favours and kept us safe in the past. We ask that you continue to protect us as a nation and to shelter us in the shadow of your wings. Oh God, your people are represented here by the ethnic groups and culture of religious persuasion. We are asking you this morning to heal the nation of our various ills, heal the nation of pedocrity, heal our nations of insecurity, heal our nations of corruption, heal our nations of bad rulers and the lead, heal our nations of ignorance, heal our nations of disunity. For the tessin unity that will find strength, we pray that you give us your supporting hand in our new beginning as we glimpse the future, your long future, but a promising future. The version of the Bible and K. J. V. Offering up the burnt offering, the face times drew near to battle against Israel, but the large ponder would allow ponder upon the philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel, and the men of Israel went out of Miespa and pursued the philistines and drove them back as far as below the car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Miespa and Shem and called its name Ebenezer, saying, first of all, the Lord has helped us. Thereafter, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong addressed the gathering. He congratulated the new APC executives in River State for presenting a united front. The man of the North of London, he was very comfortable. A small take off from rivers, and so they asked me to come and stand in for them. They asked me to come and stand in for them. Their spirits are always with us. The former director general, the job he started from here, started today. Because six years ago, when we started APC, we came to this stadium to join the Zonal Campaign. That Zonal Campaign produced a brand new president for this country. That guy with the carry is called off. You guys, the two of them. Hey now, hey, the carry hand up again. When we were told on television that there is no APC in River State, what we have seen today will not sleep in their house. It is the one that is working in Chubuake, Amherjee. Former national chairman of APC, Adams Oshomole, commended the party for standing firm in spite of strong opposition in the state. Ladies and gentlemen, the leaders have spoken. And why we are here is to thank God, to thank God for what he did to us. To thank God for giving us the Honorable Minister of Transportation. And to thank God for what he did to all of us. And also to thank God for what will happen to us. To thank God for what he did to us. You go and interpret what I am saying. There is a house that doesn't exist in this country. We are here to show solidarity to our brother and friend. The man who has got up, who is outside from many here. We want to say to you and political affiliations, we are with our brother. The high point of speeches came when the party leader in the zone, right Honorable Routimi Amherjee, who is also the Minister of Transportation, took the rostrum. He first went on a lap of honor around the stadium, acknowledging delegates from all local governments of the state. He titled his speech, Forward with Courage. In the first paragraph, Minister Amherjee declared his interest to run for the office of president. Fellow Nigerians, I stand before you today to declare my intention and submit my invitation to serve as your next president. Listing his 23 years of public service in different capacities, Amherjee acknowledged the challenges facing the country. He offered himself to lead the honorous task of taking Nigeria out of the woods. I have served our nation for the last seven years as Minister of Transportation. For 88 before that, I said as Governor of Ribanset. In the preceding 88 before that, I was Speaker of the Ribanset House of Asset. Within this period, I've also served as the Territor General of President Buade and paid organization twice. These 23 years of service have equipped me not only with great experience in governance and public service, but also compassion for the honorous use of our dear country. After more than two decades in the public arena, I had wanted to go on holiday and spend more time with my family before charting a new course outside politics. But at 56, because I'm 56 years old, I'm a member of the generation born after independence who has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Nigeria. I'm compared by the urgency of our present challenges to place my experience and profit capacity at the service of the nation at the highest level. Those who know me can testify a straight talker, but I speak the truth with conviction, so allow me to speak the truth here today. We are facing some very serious challenges as a country. These are problems of insecurity, challenges of greater contemplative governance, youth unemployment and the scourge of spiritual poverty. These problems are however not the exclusive preserve of Nigeria. We live in a troubled world. The reality we used to know has altered in nearly every nation. Climate change has brought about food scarcity in some places. Population explosion has produced unusual pressure on resources and supplies. Property has become a challenge all over the world, especially in the European world. The COVID crisis has placed unanticipated burdens on the budgets of nations and put pressure on available resources. Trans-border crises have erupted in unusual places and placed the internal security of many nations under pressure. We are part of the Sahel, an area of the world that is subject to frequent terrorist attacks. Let us look at our current challenges as part and consequences of these global threats. I admit that Nigeria's problem did not begin today and they will not be solved overnight. But they are not beyond the capacity of our people to solve. Fortunately, that process has already started. It's an ancient proverb that a society and a good, a society that grows great when old men plant trees, under whose shade they know they will never see. The current administration under the leadership of President Mohammad Uqwaren has planted many such trees in Nigeria's future. We have invested billions in infrastructure, human capital development, and made reforms that will pay off over time in terms of systemic growth and stability. We have invested heavily in projects and initiatives that will secure a brighter, better future for Nigeria. I am proud to have been part of this success story. It has been an honor overseeing the mission of transportation, in reviving the monoclonal race, and working tirelessly to create an integrated national transportation system that will positively impact our economic trade, employment, business, and national cohesion. Have we achieved everything we set out to do? Of course not. Could we have done more? Undoubtedly, there's always room for improvement. On reflection, the notion of running for president would have been far beyond imagination, or beyond life, running around the streets of Cuba, or our small company, New Pima. Not to talk of the young, indigent student leader, who are blessing peers at the invention of Port Harcourt, but my inspiration is not about fulfilling any personal ambition. I am contested for the office because I believe that it is my moral duty to live what I can in the service of my country. Now that Amici has declared to run for the presidency on the APC's banner, what really are his chances? There's no doubt, like he said, that it's going to be tough, but with the man Tubiquero to me, Amici, as a flag bearer, which I know, that definitely all lines will fall for him at the end of the day in APC, and all lines will also fall for him on the election day proper, where Nigerians are going to determine their destinies. And I am sure that with God that he has always trusted, with God that we have always trusted, we have also always believed in him, in the capacity that he has. You can understand the man we are talking about, the man who has respect for those who made him. That man is Tubiquero to me, Amici, 2023 president. For him, he will continue. Look at the railway revolution. Look at the road revolution. The Niger bridge, what Fashola has done there, it's the same kind of thing we're talking about. Look at the border, bunny road. These are roads that people thought would have been impossible. It's as difficult like the Topman Land Bridge of Lagos, and this administration of Buhari is doing it. We are also having the cleanup of Oguni. Those are the things that Buhari government has come to do that Amici will continue. Women in politics, given opportunity to women, when it was a governor of rivers, when he was in this state, a lot of women had political positions and they did very well. And also the youth had scholarships. We had scholarship and bores. And for education to flourish well, he has to replicate what he did when he was in university. Remember, he won the best UBE in Nigeria then, who were in the board of Universal Basic Education Board. So if he replicates that UBE standard in the federation, the real UBE, we will begin to see quality kind of graduates coming out from Ascus. I'm happy, more happy than surprised, but of course, until it happens, my father said, you don't believe in your breakfast until you've eaten it. So of course, we wanted to see the declaration live, which we have seen. But you know, many people are celebrating and I'm happy and I'm celebratory as well, but now the work begins. There's a lot of work. We have to go around the length and breadth of the country, reaching out to people, preaching out to people. And that I think is something that the Rotima Amici that I know is very comfortable doing. So we'll be joining him on that exercise. Of course, we have interest in the state as well, but we're going to have to mix both. There is a common saying, one with God is majority. Because he has divine backing, I already said, from across the nation, men will just align. And before, you know, what started like a small city? I'm sure you were amazed at the crowd that's turned out here today. A lot of people were wondering, where were the people come from? People have been saying there is no APC in River State, but you are here. You saw the crowd for yourself, surely. The God of Heaven, who brought him here today, will cause every other line to fall in place and the glory will be all his. And Nigeria will surely be better for it.