2023: Businessman Jack-Rich submits APC presidential form, set to challenge Tinubu, Osinbajo, others

An oil magnate, Tein Jack-Rich, has formally declared his presidential ambition on the platform of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC.

Mr Jack-Rich, the founder of Belemaoil Producing Limited, made his declaration in Abuja Friday at a press conference.

He said if elected president, his government would not take any foreign loans throughout his tenure.

He also pledged to create 26,000 jobs in each of the 774 local governments of Nigeria on his first day in office.

He said he had submitted his N100 million presidential form at the APC secretariat and was ready to challenge other presidential aspirants for the party’s ticket.

Some of the aspirants Mr Jack-Rich would be challenging for the APC ticket are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ex-Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, outgoing transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi and Kogi governor Yahaya Bello.

Like other APC presidential aspirants, he pledged his loyalty to the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, saying “All these good ideas will be a mirage if we did not get the right leader to take over from Buhari.”

“I will not take a single loan throughout my presidency. We will produce what we will consume. God has given us all we need to consume,” the businessman said.

The aspirant also suggested some of the things he would do differently from President Buhari if elected.

“I will fly to Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna and every part of the country if we have issues. I will fly there. I will not send anybody if they have issues, I will fly there.”

Mr Buhari has been criticised by many Nigerians for seldom showing empathy for victims of violence and insecurity in the country. Apart from not visiting many of the areas and victims of the violence, the president hardly speaks directly about the killings but prefers to do so through statements by his spokespersons.

“The best way to stop all these crimes is the oil and gas and I am in that industry and we can do it. Everything that I worked for will go to humanity,” Mr Jack-Rich said.

He said the reason Nigeria has been struggling with inflation is because the country is not consuming what it is producing.

“That’s why you need a game-changer. Believe in my visionary leadership whose heart is for the people. I will make Buhari proud, I will make Nigerians proud because I am for humanity.

“Yahoo boys have a gift to be developed but they engage in such ills because they have been abandoned. I am telling you because my heart is for you, I will do what is right.

“I will create smart jobs and will develop the oil and gas industry and optimize the oil and gas in the country. My presidency will strengthen our value system. I will create 26,000 jobs in each LGA on my first day in office and the opportunity, if it materialises, will see about 20,124,000 created on my first day in office,” he said.

He, however, did not provide specifics of how the 20 million jobs would be created on his first day in office.

“I will make it happen. When I create 26,000 direct opportunity jobs on the first day in office in the 774 LGAs, within one year, poverty will flee,” he said.

The aspirant said his policies will be for all categories of Nigerians.

“For the millennials, we need to create infrastructure that will help them to develop digital technology. You need a president that can engage the east and the west economy.

“You need a president when you travel outside the country, you will be respected. You need a president that will ensure creation of jobs, a president that can grow the economy; a president that can create deep private sector engagement.

“You need a president that can think for you, not himself. You need a president that will ensure the wealth in Niger Delta is not for the region alone but a president who can utilise it for the benefit of all.

“You need to have control of your economy and the control of your children. With the Jack-Rich Presidency, we will produce more, plan more and be respected in the comity of nations. We will strengthen our currency and create jobs for youth.

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“All I see is hope. All I need is the right legislation to back up my plans. We will not make policies that will not be backed up with action,” he said.

Mr Jack-Rich, 47, had earlier appointed a former governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, as the chairman of his campaign organisation.

On Friday, he narrated his life story of how he lived as a street boy in Port Harcourt after losing both parents.

He said he later founded Belemaoil Producing Limited, which he described as the first indigenous oil exploration and production company in Nigeria to emerge from an oil-producing community in the heart of Niger Delta.

He studied Petroleum Production Technology in Panola College Cartage, United States; Business Administration at the University of Wales, and Business Management at Usam University.

He said he hopes to focus on youth and women empowerment, infrastructure and job creation if elected as president of Nigeria.

“The global economy is about $83 trillion and the continent of Africa is just three per cent of the global value chain. That’s about $2.5 trillion. it is struggling with the economy of California which has a GDP of $3.6 trillion.

“California is about the size of Lagos and Ogun states in South-west Nigeria and Nigeria is just 19.8 per cent of Africa’s GDP. That is worrisome,” he said.