Frontline politician and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential aspirant, Tanimu Turaki has berated President Muhamamdu Buhari for discarding the report of the 2004 National Political Reform Conference.
Turaki who served as Special Duties Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, stated this while addressing the Ebonyi State PDP executive committee, other party bigwigs from across the state and delegates to the party’s national convention in Abakaliki,
A statement made available to BusinessDay by the Media Adviser, Sola Atere, said Turaki who was a member of the conference noted that the report would have assisted the government in dealing with the issues of devolution of power, resource control, restructuring and other issues that have triggered injustice, tension and violence across the country. “It is better to jaw-jaw (dialogue) than war-war,” he said.
He lamented the betrayal of the people’s trust by APC which has inflicted poverty, economic hardship, insecurity, disunity, injustice and, despotic and insensitive leadership on the people, stressing that Nigerians have now entered a ‘One Chance vehicle ( a euphemism for deception).’
He restated his commitment to addressing the issue of creating an additional state in the South East, adopting a more functional strategy to tackle insecurity and economic downturn, and also rebuilding the trust and confidence of the people in themselves and in the leadership.
The PDP the presidential aspirant advised, therefore needs to present a standard bearer who has integrity, vision, well-educated and knowledgeable, and who is a unifier and dynamic enough to cope better with the burden of leadership than the present leadership in the country.
He however warned that wresting power from the APC in 2019 will not be a ‘tea party’ as its members lack democratic credentials.
The chairman, Eboyin State PDP, Barrister Onyeka Nwabonyi, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Ogbonnaya Nwifuru who represented the governor and other party bigwigs gave assurance that they will support only the aspirant who possess those qualities listed earlier to beat beat the APC candidate and also meet the aspirations of Nigerians.
Turaki who was also in Katsina earlier said that the party has an onerous task at this critical juncture of Nigeria’s history to garner the people’s support to rescue the nation from the atrocious rule of the APC in order to save the country for future generations.
He regretted that the prices of basic foods and services had gone up by four times under the APC government from the levels they were when the last PDP Administration was voted out through negative propaganda and outright lies by APC.
In his words: “Look at the exchange rate of the Naira today to the dollar and other major currencies. Also, look at the outrageous number of people that are losing their jobs and the businesses that are collapsing from the time APC took over power. Again, there is hunger and anger in the land today triggering friction among Nigerians.”
The PDP, he said , was happy that Nigerians believed the promises made by the then APC presidential candidate to perform “miracles” in government, noting that the people are now better informed that he sweet-talked them only to deliver failed promises compared to the evidence of performance by successive PDP Administrations.
He expressed sadness that the government has foisted the worst level of divisiveness on Nigerians, and warned that if it continues to create chaos and causes serious refugee problems, the international community may be forced to intervene.
“We have lived together for ages and understood our plurality and complexities,” he said. “This government wants to destroy all these otherwise, how do you explain the emergence of deadly friction between the Tivs and the Fulanis who had been trusted friends historically? Yet, this government has failed to trace the root causes of the problem so as to resolve it.”
It is trite, he said to mention other unresolved security challenges which are as pronounced in the President’s home state as in other parts of the country.
Tanimu pledged that if he secures the mandate of his party he has the integrity, intellect, vision and the strength to assemble a credible team to tackle Nigeria’s myriad of problems to the admiration of the people and the international community.
Chairman, Katsina State PDP, Salisu Yusuf Majigiri stated that the only projects initiated by APC government in the state were the construction of a prison, and an helipad being used by the governor in contrast to the unparalleled development by previous PDP administrations.
The state government, he stated further, had borrowed over 70 billion Naira in three years with nothing to show for it, while past PDP administrations never borrowed a kobo to run the government.
While noting that the PDP needed a credible and reliable presidential candidate, the chairman promised that the state’s delegates will do “what is best for this country” at the party’s national convention.
He also held similar consultation in Dutse with the Jigawa State PDP led by Alhaji Salisu Mahamuda Ku’ it.
The presidential aspirant also paid a solidarity visit to a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali and ex-Kano State Governor and former Education Minister, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau in Kano.
The three PDP leaders decried the wanton humiliation of leaders of the party only by the government which they accused of brazingly usurping the constitutional powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC over matters relating to campaign funding.
They therefore expressed the need for people of goodwill to promote and protect the nation’s democracy including the rule of law.
