Race to Clinch PDP Presidential Ticket Heats Up, As Kwankwaso Declares •Laments pervasive air of hopelessness in the country

...Bafarawa kicks against consensus, as Turaki picks form

The race to clinch the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket was heated up om Wednesday as former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, formally declared his intention to run for the presidency ahead of 2019 general election.

He said his determination to vie for the office of the president on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was  to offer a paradigm shift in leadership, adding that the narrative of poverty, insecurity and hopelessness must change to turn to a new dawn of confidence in building a well-restructured Nigeria.

The declaration that later took place at Chida Hotel in Abuja, was initially scheduled to take place at Eagle Square, which was later sealed off by the police, after the sum of N2, 217, 600 was paid to Integrated Facility Services Limited on August 17, 2018. His attempt to make use of the old parade ground at Area 10 Abuja did not also yield fruit.

Barely 24 hours before his declaration, a letter dated August 27, 2018, and signed by Usman Mukhtar Raji for the Facility Manager stated: “We are sorry to inform you that the event can no longer hold on the said date because it is a political event, and August 29, 2018, happens to be a work day, as it would disrupt usual work flow of the federal secretariat.

"We apologise for the oversight on our part to note the date in relation to the nature of the event. We regret every inconvenience caused by this.”

However, while addressing his supporters in Abuja, Kwankwaso said: "Your resolve to come, I am convinced, was informed by our collective disillusionment, disappointment and the pervasive air of hopelessness in our country today. Your desire to see things change for better is well-informed and inner conviction that together, we can usher in a positive change.

"There is no gainsaying that all is not well with the polity. It is also clear that the same mind-set that created and escalated the problems cannot be used in resolving the on-going crises in our nationhood and national development. I offer positive change. Change has again become inevitable.

"To live is to witness changes because change is an inseparable part of life. Come May 2019, the narrative of helplessness, buck passing, division, poverty, insecurity and hopelessness must change, and a new dawn of confidence in building a one well-restructured Nigeria must be achieved.”

He assured his supporters that while he does not have the prophetic power to predict the future, the people certainly have in them the ability to create the future that they want.

"On this day, as I stand before you, I offer you a value-based leadership anchored on our national ethics as outlined in chapter 2 of Section 23 of our constitution, and I quote: ‘The National Ethics shall be Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social Justice, Religious Tolerance, Self-reliance and Patriotism’.

"I will provide a leadership where everybody is free and equal; where Nigerians see themselves as Nigerians first and as Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa, ljaw, lbibio, Fulani, among others as second; where elites are self-assured and self-assertive; where they are confident and competent, and where they want to do what is right no matter whose ox is gored.

“I want to lead a Nigeria where people are educated and exposed beyond the confines of their tribe, religion, linguistic group or place of birth,” the former Minister of Defence stated.

On security, Kwankwaso stressed that there was the need for well-timed, motivated, well-equipped and intelligence-propelled security architecture, saying this requires decisive options of strengthening and equipping the military while also restructuring the police to make it more effective.

He also promised to vigorously pursue other institutional reforms in other security and paramilitary agencies and justice system that would serve as a huge disincentive for crimes and criminality.

According to him, "The constant misuse of security apparatus will stop immediately. Ours is a recommitment to strengthening all democratic institutions in Nigeria."

Notable politicians who graced the event included Hon Lea Maeba, Alhaji Buba Galadima, Musa Takao, Musa Bala Yakassai, Nnaji Godswill, Idris Alabi among others.

Meanwhile, a former Governor of Sokoto State and one of the aspirants on the platform of PDP, Attahiru  Bafarawa, after picking his forms, said the swelling numbers of aspirant was encouraging, stressing that it shows that the party is accepted by Nigerians.