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• Adamawa guber aspirants demand respect for zoning
Ahead of Thursday’s conclusion of the sale of nomination forms for all elective positions, more governorship aspirants from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have paid to signify their intention to contest for governorship election.
One such aspirant is Mr. Jimi Agbaje from Lagos Statewho pledged to transform the state to a level befitting of an international state capital if voted into power as governor.
Briefing journalists after picking his nomination form at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, Agbaje said: “Lagos State is the economic hub in our country and region and the dynamics of the politics of Lagos is very different generally from across the country; what you find is that Lagosians have very high aspirations and they are concerned about having a government that will make their aspiration come true.”
“They know what they are looking for; Lagos is about governance, good governance. Lagos is about making things better for the people.
He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) had outlived its usefulness in the state.
“In terms of the ruling party in Lagos, they have been there for 16 years, therefore we believe that they are now reaching a stage where it is the end of a cycle because they have run out of ideas and put themselves in a position where they are no longer in a position to deliver to the people.
“If you go around Lagos today and talk to the major stakeholders, you will find out that their aspirations are not being met, talk to the youths, market women, civil servants and even the traders and professionals, everybody has a major grudge with the ruling party in Lagos.”
Agaje added: “Therefore we believe in the PDP that we have a lot of answers to this thing. So, for us, it is time for a change as far as governance in Lagos is concerned. We are looking at a Lagos that is the city state of the future, Lagos can no longer be compared to what I call just everywhere, we must begin to compete with those city capitals that we see across the globe.
That is the way forward for Lagos.
“We need to remove all these obstacles that prevent entrepreneurship. We keep talking about Job creation, the reality is that jobs are going to be created and not just by the big organisations but more by the smaller organisations.
“This means that we need to address the small and medium enterprises, you know we have hundreds of enterprises in Lagos. All we need to do is to remove all the obstacle in the way that each of those small enterprise,” he said.
From Taraba State, Musa John Jen, promised to utilise the Gembu Electricity Dam in the state to boost electricity generation in the state if he is elected governor in 2015.
He made the promise in Abuja, while speaking with journalists, after picking the PDP nomination and expression of interest forms to contest the election.
Jen, who is the immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, described as unfortunate the electricity situation in the country.
He held that the situation was hindering economic development in the country.
“We need electricity, you cannot do any meaningful investment in Nigeria without a stable source of power supply and Gembu and particularly Taraba State is the key,’’ he said.
The aspirant said he was already discussing with an Italian company to invest in the dam, adding that the company was eager to commence work on a Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) basis.
According to him, the dam has the capacity to generate electricity not only for Nigeria, but six other African countries.
He, however, described as a mere speculation the alleged endorsement of a particular governorship aspirant by Gen. T. Y Danjuma, a major political stakeholder in the state.
He added that he would not deterred even if the rumour was true, stressing that he posses what it takes to win the PDP ticket to contest the state governorship election in 2015.
Jen said his focus would be on boosting the state`s internally generated revenue with a view to developing the entire state if elected.
Also, Chief John Abdul, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Nasarawa, was at the PDP headquarters to pick the forms to contest the state`s governorship election in 2015.
He said he would ensure that the PDP reclaimed the state in 2015.
The aspirant promised to tackle issues of in security which he said was rampant in the state, if elected.
He promised to effectively utilise the state’s human and mineral resource to the benefit of its people as well as provide employment opportunity for youths in the state.
He further promised to use his experience as an economist to give value and direction to the state if elected as its next governor in 2015.
Mr. David Ker, a governorship aspirant from Benue State, was also at the PDP headquarters to pick the forms to contest the state’s governorship election in 2015.
Ker, a former Vice Chancellpr of Benue State University, said he already had a blueprint which would focus on the development of sustainable agriculture and education in the state.
Meanwhile, governorship aspirants on the platform of the PDP from Adamawa State before the assumption of Governor Bala James Ngilari yesterday stormed the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, insisting that the pre 2015 governorship arrangement that zoned the slot to Adamawa central should be respected.
The incumbent governor is from Adamawa north and has obtained his governorship nomination form to contest the 2015 election in the state. PDP is making an offer to the new governor to contest senatorial election.
The Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Umar Fintiri, with 13 other aspirant demanded that the national leadership of the party respect the earlier agreement reached that only aspirant from Adamawa central should contest in 2015.
Briefing journalists after a brief meeting with the party leadership, the former Political Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and spokesman of the aspirants, Ahmad Gulak, said they had resolved to work in total compliance with the zoning arrangement put together by the party in the state.
The aspirants comprising the Speaker of state assembly, former minister, Idi Hong, Gulak, Auwal Tukur, Abubakar Girei, James Bakus and some others, pledged their unalloyed support to the party’s decision which they said “reign supreme over anyone’s decision.”
Gulak said they were not aware that the present governor of the state, Ngilari, who hails from Adamawa North had joined the race for the governorship.
“We are not aware that the present governor has picked a form to contest the governorship election, all we know is we are loyal to the party and would abide by its decision of zoning the candidate to the Adamawa central.”
According to an agreement reached between the PDP leadership and the Adamawa governorship aspirants last month, the central senatorial zone should produce the governor in 2015.
In a statement signed by the party’s national secretary, Wale Oladipo, the PDP had announced that an agreement had been struck with all 14 aspirants.
Source: Thisday
