BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately operationalize the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) to accelerate development of critical infrastructure and social services to the people of the geo-political zone.
This is even as he assured that he would assemble some of the best brains in the country to provide workable solutions to the nation’s economy, insecurity and other challenges confronting Nigeria.
Addressing a mammoth crowd of party members at the PDP secretariat in Bauchi on Thursday, Tambuwal said the establishment of the NEDC was one of the initiatives by House of Representatives and his leadership and that of the current Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, to repair the damage caused to the Northeast by the activities of insurgents.
He appealed to Bauchi delegates to support his presidential aspiration to enable him to provide the much needed inclusive leadership to Nigerians.
In his words; “I have the legislative, judicial and executive experience, and I am well prepared for leadership. I promise you that if elected, we shall not shut the doors of the Aso Rock Villa against you or anybody. We shall carry all Nigerians along irrespective of religion, ethnicity and culture”.
Responding, the Bauchi State Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Hamza Ibrahim Usha, said that Tambuwal had invested heavily in Bauchi, adding that this was the time for him to reap the benefits of such investments.
Usha also acknowledged the role played by Tambuwal in the emergence of Hon. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi state as Speaker of the House of Representatives and other forms of support to the state.
He said; “When we were preparing for the last Bauchi Senatorial bye-election and we had no funds to run our campaign, Governor Tambuwal came to our rescues by sending us N10million to assist us.
“Tambuwal has been good to us, not once or twice, and the people of Bauchi are ready to reward you for your investment in us. I assure you that come October 5thand 6th, no vote from Bauchi delegates (to the PDP national convention) will go out of you.”
He assured that at the convention, all Bauchi delegates would line up behind Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other leaders like former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed and Hon Abdul Ningi, who were present at the meeting, to cast their votes for Tambuwal.
