Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, said on Tuesday that he has no doubt
that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would get its act right and
present a presidential candidate that will win the Presidency and
salvage the country from the throes of economic woes and insecurity.
He
added that the country has had a lot of issues under the APC government
and that it was time Nigerians rejected the party, saying there is need
for decency in government.
The governor stated these while hosting
the former governor of Kwara State and former Senate President, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who was in Ibadan to meet with PDP delegates
ahead of the party’s National Convention slated for later in the month.
A
statement by Mr. Taiwo Adisa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor
Makinde, quoted the governor as saying that the PDP Convention is an
avenue for the party to take a serious decision for itself and the
country and that he was confident that the party would get it right.
Makinde,
who described Saraki as a good presidential material that has a clear
understanding of the issues of government, said the least of the PDP
presidential aspirants is better than the best APC has to offer.
He
said: “I want to welcome you again to Ibadan. I am glad for one thing –
if we take you anywhere in the world, you are presidential material. You
have a clear understanding of the issues of government. “Some believe
that in PDP, the least of our aspirants is better than the best APC
wants to offer.
“In the next 10 days, we have to take a very serious
decision for our party and the country as well. I don’t have any doubt
that we will get it right this time around.
“They say 24 hours is a
long time in politics. So, we have to keep striving, pulling everybody
together such that we are able to narrow the field and go to the
presidential convention as a united family.”
Speaking further, the
governor berated the APC-controlled National Assembly for making laws
that make the electoral process unstable, saying he hoped that President
Muhammadu Buhari would assent to the latest amendment to ensure that
statutory delegates vote in party primaries, before the commencement of
the House of Assembly primaries.
“You mentioned that I am a
super-delegate to the convention but that may not be with the situation
that the APC National Assembly has put us into. They have modified the
Electoral Act, sent it to the president and I am not aware that the
President has assented to that. And if it is not assented to, even the
president himself, all the governors and all those claiming they are
statutory delegates will not be able to vote.
“That is the
implication of what they have done. We may have a situation whereby the
presidential candidate will be determined by only the elected national
delegates; only 774 throughout this country.
“We also have the issue
of section 84(12). They got a judgment in Abia, which has been set
aside, and the Attorney General of the Federation has, again, gone to
the Supreme Court for an interpretation. Is it a conflict between the
Federal Government and the states?
“So, we have a lot of issues with
this APC contraption and Nigerians had better look and say ‘no more.’ We
need decency in government. Most of these things are pretty
straightforward but why are they giving the entire country a runaround?
Why are they deliberately making the electoral process unstable?”
Speaking
earlier, Dr. Saraki said Nigeria is in its defining moment and that it
needs a president that has knowledge of the issue, can be a team player
and can connect with the youths and bring to bear the private sector
experience.
The former Senate President explained that he represents
the kind of president that Nigeria needs at this moment, having gained
experience in the private sector and also served in government at both
executive and legislative arms, rising to become chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum and Senate President.
Saraki said: “Your
Excellency, I thank you for making time because I know this is a very
busy day for you. You were at the programme with the pensioners and you
are going to commission a project today.
“I don’t have much to say
here because by your pedigree, by your background, by your capacity and
knowledge, based on where you come from; the private sector, you
understand the issues; you know we are in a defining moment in this
country. You know that this country now requires a particular type of
leadership.
“We don’t have the luxury of saying he is my brother, he
is my friend, he is my sister. There are certain things we must see in a
person and I have confidence in you because I know your capacity and
the people of Oyo state are benefiting from it. When you came in, they
did not give you much of a chance saying you were coming from the
private sector but see what you have done to the state.
“So if you
look at all the aspirants and ask who is closer to you the way you are?
Who has come from the private sector like you? Who has the knowledge of
the issues at hand? To lead this country, you must also be a team player
because the country is so disunited. To lead this country, as they say,
you must be a bridge across the North and South because all these talks
in the party about zoning; let it go to the North or South, now the
party has thrown it open, who best fits that the North and South will
not feel they have lost out?
“I believe I best represent that person.
The youth that represent over 70 per cent of our population are
yearning for a person that they can connect with and that is why they
are connecting with you in Oyo state. Let us have a president like you,
that can also connect with the youth at the national level.
“Today we
see issues of religion across the country. Let us have somebody again
that separates between the Christians and the Muslims so that there is
unity in this country. You know Your Excellency, being a Governor in the
last four years, the revenues in the country have dropped so badly. A
government that is spending over 80 per cent to service loans cannot
bring infrastructural development.”
2023: PDP will get it right this time, Makinde says …As Saraki visits, lauds Makinde for transforming state
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