BUKOLA Saraki, Senate President, on Thursday, officially declared his intention to vie for the top office in the land.

Mr Saraki made his intention known two weeks after he debunked a report that he was interested in the job.

With recent political visitations across the country one is not surprised by the stunt pulled by the Senate President.

Stating the reason for his aspiration, Saraki said the youths of the country urged him to run for the presidency.

“I have decided to answer the call of teeming youth who have asked me to run for President,” Saraki said while delivering a keynote address at a dialogue for youths and young aspirants in Abuja on Thursday.

“Accordingly, I hereby announce my intention to run for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he added.

Saraki listed several challenges which he believes have clogged the wheels of progress in the nation.

He highlighted extreme poverty, hunger, lack of education and mass unemployment as some of the things that have paved way for more crime and insecurity in the nation, adding that it is now time for Nigerians to rebuild the nation with new leadership.

With the lawmaker’s declaration, he has joined the long growing list of aspirants jostling for the top office in the land under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

He will have to slug it out with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; former caretaker chairman of PDP, Ahmed Makarfi; Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso; Sule Lamido, a two-time governor of Jigawa State; Ibrahim Dankwambo, a two-time governor of Gombe State and governor Aminu Tambuwal, who is believed to be nursing the ambition but yet to make his intention known.