More aspirants join PDP Governorship race
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has extended for a week sales of nomination forms for various offices ahead of the 2023 general election.
During the week, some aspirants declared their intention to contest the party’s governorship tickets in their states and picked forms.
Politics Editor, JOSHUA OMOLOYE brings a recap. Delta: Coalition picks PDP Governorship forms for Angozi A group, Coalition of Deltans in Northern Nigeria on Wednesday picked a governorship expression of interest and nomination forms for Dr Braduce Angozi to contest the Delta State governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Spokesperson of the group, Ebizimoh Preye said the group decided to buy nomination forms for Angozi because of the confidence they have in him as a dependable successor to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
He said the former local government chairman of Burutu Local Government area and former Commissioner for Agriculture who is the promoter of the Delta Project is a tested hand and qualified to fly the PDP governorship flag in next year’s gubernatorial election.
The group expressed confidence in Dr Angozi’s track records as a party man, a unifier and a strategist He said “Dr. Angozi has a roadmap to build on the legacy already built by the Okowa administration, to continue the good works the PDP government under Okowa is doing.
“In PDP, we know and acknowledge that governance is continuous and Dr Angozi being a respectable party man who is versatile and experienced in governance will surely continue the good work that His Excellency, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is doing in Delta State”.
The Coalition expressed optimism that Dr Angozi will win the primary election and consequently win the governorship election next year.
Why I want to be Akwa Ibom governor – Umo A governorship aspirant in Akwa-Ibom State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Idorenyin Umo has said that his mission in the race was to build a God-inspired and purposeful leadership that would make the state self-reliant.
The former member of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly obtained nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the state governorship at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja on Tuesday.
Addressing journalists after picking his forms, Umo who said he was in the race as an alternative choice for the people, pledged to harness all the resources of the state to make life comfortable for the people. He said that his priority would be education, agriculture and healthcare. “
In doing this, we have carefully outlined some drivers to achieve our mission. One of which is to invest in education, knowing that is a bedrock of any economic development.
“Secondly, is to also make sure that we provide food for our people by investing in agriculture. When we have food available for our people there will be no need for people to be poor.
“Also, we have heard that the average lifespan of a Nigerian is 65 years. For me it is because of good lack of medical care, so we will give medical care to our people at an affordable rate.
“Every program under my government will give priority to our people. We will lead the people to serve them and not rule them. “We will be accountable to them in whatever we do.
We will lead them to where they have opportunities, care and protection. With this approach we would have been able to serve them well,” Umo said.
Asked about his view on the incumbent governor endorsing an aspirant, Umo said that as human being the governor has the right to endorse whoever he likes but power belongs to the people and God “The governor is a human being and political animal that must have interest in who succeeds him.
“We have had incidents where these happened and it never worked. “He is just an individual and he has made his choice. At the end of the day, it is what God wants and people accept that it will stand.”
Umo however, said that his integrity and competence would speak for him when it was time for the people to decide on who they want.
On the performance of the incumbent, Umo said that he believed that Gov. Udom Emmanuel has done well in the areas of his mission, especially in industries in the state.
He said that if given the opportunity he would continue from where Udom would stop in the development of the state.
Political Aide picks form for Adamawa Governor, says Fintiri’s candidacy cut across parties A group of political office holders and labour leaders in Adamawa State led by Abdulrahman Bobboi, Political Adviser to Gov. Ahmadu Umar Fintiri picked the nomination form for the governor.
The group said a cross section of Adamawa people irrespective of parties wants Fintiri to consolidate on his achievements in office.
He said “it is the will of the people, the good people of Adamawa State decide to buy a nomination form for him (governor) and this is because of the enormous achievements that Governor Ahmadu Umar Fintri has achieved within three years. “We waited for him to come and buy this form.
But we felt he did not need to do that. The good people of Adamawa decided that they are the people that will come and buy this form for him.”
The reason why Adamawa people believe so much in the governor, according to him, is that “Governor Fintiri has done marvelously well in Adamawa State.
He has constructed 347 Kilometers of rural roads across the 21 local governments in Adamawa. State. With this, you will see that the trade unions are here with us, the business community are here with us, they are here because they are serious and they have seen that the governor is doing a very good job in the state.
“He is a very resourceful personality. He headed the national convention of this great party, and you are all witnesses to the successful convention we had which has never been so in the history of PDP.
“If you have not been in Yola for the past two years, if you go there today, and you begin to see flyovers in the city, you will begin to see a lot of roads.
What I have mentioned for you now are things that he is doing for the people of Adamawa State”. He dismissed the fear that political gladiators such as the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen Buba Marwa (rtd), Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha and the First Lady Mrs Aishat Buhari of the APC in Adamawa might be a threat to Fintiri’s second term ambition.
Bobboi said “we have no business with the people you have mentioned, we respect them. We respect their position, but we’re in PDP, they’re in another party. So what business do we have?
But, I want to assure you that the influence of Governor Fintiri has cut across political parties. “You will be shocked to see people in other political parties supporting him, helping him because we have resolved in Adamawa that we need peace and we need development.
We will not compromise on these two issues”. I will win the governorship election because PDP has never lost in Taraba – Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya Former Labour minister and former Senator and one-time member of House of Representatives, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya who personally picked the governorship nomination forms on Thursday expressed confidence in not only clinching PDP’s ticket but winning at the 2023 general election.
His confidence was based on the claim that the PDP remains the leading political party in the state, stressing that the party has never lost an election in the state. Ikenya said the party needed someone of his calibre to fly the PDP governorship flag in the election because of his accumulated experience in politics and public positions. He added that the unity in Taraba PDP will count in his favour.
“I’ve been in PDP from the beginning, we have never lost elections. Some of us are out because we believe that we need credible people. We need somebody that is very familiar with the people, we want somebody that is very popular. We are looking at who can win the election.
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It’s not about somebody contesting, we are talking about who can win the election and that’s why we’re here and I have the capacity. I have all it takes to win the election.
Election is not new to me. I’ve always won and I want to assure you I’m gonna win by God’s grace. “I have served myself at various levels and with the experience that I have gathered so far, I have exposed myself to a certain level that I know what is really the problem of my state and the problems of my people, The Trumpet gathered.
“I think with the credentials I have, my level of education and appointments. I’ve been elected into several positions in my state.
I think that if you look at my credentials, I think I’m more qualified to be a governor in my state taking into cognizance of those that are running with me.
“It is not about credentials alone, it’s about who you are and what you are to the people”.
