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Thursday, April 18
The only thing I will say is that if you look at our merger, from north and zones we have taking the march together, the South West especially, if you look at it critically and look at what has transpired, from there we can say okay, this is what we should do as a party or this is what we should not do and carefully look at some errors we made in the last six years.
There are so many other things they have said that are mere tissue of lies, meant to get a good man down but they will never succeed.They have circulated rumours that I got money from the London Paris Club, that I robbed the state and did this and that but I challenge anyone either in the Governors’ Forum or in the state – anybody! Although there were intense calls from people urging me to contest for governorship seat and succeed Governor Ahmad Sani, there was a logical reason why that could not be done; I clearly understood the perspective of the governor that since we are almost from the same local government – he is from Bakura and I am from Talatan Mafara – so, it was not good for the governorship ticket to remain within that axis.
I made it very clear but at least, I know myself what I’ve been doing and what I did for my people and the Governors’ Forum, what I even did for my party the APC.
Then see how we can quickly push as a party and as a government to cover about 30 to 40 percent of those errors and then convince people and tell Nigerians, we promised so many things that we could not fulfill because we found so many things that were not in place.
It is only when you have a party, a strong party, that you start thinking of 2023 and whatever the situation may be, the capacity to lead the party to electoral victory is the most important thing.
So, let’s look at the constitution and it is clear about everyone’s roles.
Therefore, if giving out contracts for development purposes meant that I was spending money on contracts to make money, let the current governor give out even more contracts and make money.
In 2003, I became party secretary in my state; I was the Director-General of the Muhammadu Buhari presidential campaigns as well as that of Yerima’s governorship campaign as well as that of every other person who was contesting on the platform of defunct ANPP.
We started this process of merger and in the 2015 election, we won all the state’s seats in the National Assembly and also, our party, APC won the Presidency.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter whether the governor is leader or whosoever is the leader; the important thing is to deliver.
Let them look at their constitution very well and take a lead from there.I’m not contesting any leadership.
Even as a sitting governor, there was someone I was addressing as ‘leader’ and he knows; I called him Jagora.
If you look at what we have done in the past and what is on ground now, the issue or responsibilities of chairmanship will not be a difficult task for me to deal with because I know the right buttons to press to bring people together and win elections.
Firstly, let me point out that even before the formation of All Peoples Party (APP), Alliance for Democracy (AD) and other political parties – that is, during the period of the defunct UNCP and DPP – I contested under the platform of DPN for the membership of the House of Assembly.
So, whatever lie someone wants to tell, he should put the facts on the ground, that’s the most important; not using some faceless cowards like himself to disseminate fabricated lies.
Yari On the clamour for power shift to the SouthI have no personal position beyond the party’s official stand.
I have mentioned it time without number, that if there is any man or collaborator within or outside who is holding money on my behalf or who knows where I kept money, I say that God should not spare him if he decides to cover me up! I never knew anyone in that place and contrary to a few people’s wild speculations, I never had any such gold.
This is where we are today and at the same time in 2015, my colleague governors unanimously accepted me to be the chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
For me, I am not contesting the leadership with the governor or anybody; it is out of respect that I am being called a leader because I was there before him.
It was to utilize resources, spend money for the good of my people – that was the job given to me..
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