A former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has lambasted the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for failing to live up to its promises to Nigerians.

Gana, therefore, declared his intention to run for the Presidency.

The former minister said this in Abuja on Thursday while addressing journalists and supporters at the national secretariat of the Social Democratic Party where he went to purchase the N1m expression of interest form.

He said the tension in the country had not been this intense since the end of Nigeria’s Civil War in 1970.

Gana said, “With the utmost sense of responsibility and honour, I hereby express my well-considered interest to aspire as the Presidential candidate of the SDP with a view to ultimately contesting in the forthcoming Presidential election in 2019.

“Being a patriotic and committed democrat who has carried a burden for the rapid, effective and even development of our dear nation for decades, I am deeply concerned with the very real prospect of Nigeria imploding unless our great party comes to the rescue with a God-fearing, dynamic leadership.

“Nigeria is facing an existential threat, the seriousness and proportion of which have never been witnessed since the end of the civil war.”

The former minister promised to effectively tackle the security challenges in the country if voted into office.

Gana said any government that failed to protect lives and property was an incompetent one.

He added, “The security of the lives of the people is the primary purpose of the government, according to the constitution. Any government that cannot secure the lives of Nigerians is not worthy of being called a government.

“Therefore, APC, Nigerians are tired of you. The SDP is coming, the SDP will win and the SDP will govern well and Nigeria will be at peace.”

The former minister said the only way Nigeria could maximise its potential is to restructure the country and ensure that power was devolved to the states.

He said with restructuring, states would be able to exploit their resources and security would be decentralised.