Umahi said he finds it very funny that people at a certain age are still fighting so hard for money, instead of working to reconcile with God
The 58-year-old Governor of Ebonyi State and contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in the 2023 election, Dave Umahi, has said that politicians should have retirement age and stop struggling with ‘their children’ for political offices.
Last week, Umahi told President Muhammadu Buhari that he would be contesting the 2023 presidency, a day after the leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, said the same thing to Buhari. Tinubu will be 70 years by March.
But Umahi, who claimed he wasn’t targetting Tinubu when he was making his point, said during the interview on Channels TV that it is regrettable anyone could contest for the presidency, including old people.
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Umahi said: “In this country, I find it very funny for people at a certain age in this country that are still fighting so hard for money. I thought that at a certain age, we should be making efforts to reconcile with God and be grateful to him for the opportunity given to us.
“So, it is important that we begin to engage and say, look, even if you are successful and your children are not successful, then you are not successful. We must let people know the true meaning of life; nobody goes to the grave with this money but it is your legacy that will speak for you, speak for your children and for your generation.
“This is the kind of engagement that we need to do so that people will understand that everything is not about money and that every position was given to us by God as leaders, God will ask us for accountability for what we did with such positions.
He added: “What I mean is that in this country, there is no age limit by which we can say we have retired, we tend to be pursuing money till the end of our stay on earth in Nigeria.
“I’m not just talking about political leadership, generally, at a certain age in your life, you should be able to say I need to retire and give opportunities to your children. It cuts across all areas of life,” Umahi said.
When asked if there was anyone running for president alongside himself who should retire and allow the “children” to take over, Umahi said: “Not in my mind at all.”
Umahi explained that announcing his presidential ambition at Aso Villa some 24 hours after Tinubu’s was only coincidental and not planned.
