Katsina State Government has rejected the request of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to organize presidential campaign rally of its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, in Katsina Stadium.
The chairman of the state PDP Presidential and gubernatorial Campaign Council, Sen. Ibrahim Umar Tsauri, who disclosed this at a press conference in Katsina on Sunday frowned at the government’s decision, saying the then PDP administration in the state built the stadium for all.
Tsauri, former National Secretary of the PDP, however maintained that Atiku Abubakar would storm the state on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in continuation of PDP presidential campaign rally now scheduled to hold in Katsina Polo Ground and to commission his Katsina campaign office.
“We are going to take Nigerians to the Promised Land. We built the Karkadan Stadium for the use of the people of Katsina State and Nigerians, we want to use this stadium but because we are not in government, the government in power has refused us the use of the stadium. This is really sad, politically unbecoming and democratically challenging; it’s too bad,” said Tsauri.
Addressing the newsmen, the former Secretary to the Government of the State (SGS) and the Director General of the PDP Presidential and Gubernatorial Campaign Council in Katsina, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, said Abubakar will pay homage and respect to Hajiya Dada Yar’ Adua, mother of former President Umar Musa Yar’ Adua and Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, shortly on arrival in Katsina by 9am and proceed to the palace of the Emir of Katsina for a courtesy visit and a mark of respect for the society and for its spiritual and temporal leaders before going to the venue of the rally.
The PDP stalwart also sued for the cooperation and support of all in Katsina to make the historic rally an unparalleled success.
The press conference attracted the party’s big wigs and candidates across the state.
however, Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Charles Aniagwu says the turn out for the party’s presidential rally in Anambra and Imo states shows that the party had what it takes to win in the South East geopolitical zone.
Speaking on Arise Television on Saturday, Aniagwu said that the PDP was still very popular in the South East and urged Nigerians to support the party’s Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to rescue the nation from destruction.
Aniagwu said contrary to claims that Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi may win because he was from the South East, popular politicians had defeated their opponents in the past even in their strong holds.
According to him, the same way you have Peter Obi in the South East, same way you have Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso in the North and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the South-West, so individuals will naturally come from somewhere.
“That a man comes from somewhere does not mean that he may not be defeated and I may need to take you back to 1992 and if you could recall Bashir Tofa and Moshood Abiola. Tofa from Kano and Abiola from Ogun State in the South-West but Abiola defeated him in Kano.
“So that a man is from a place does not mean that the place will automatically be for him. And so I would not want us to be intimidated with the fact that somebody is from somewhere.
“Atiku is not just speaking and making promises, his chances both in the South-East and elsewhere in the country is far brighter than even the northern star and that is on the basis of his pedigree in time past.
“You will recall that between 1999 and 2007, Atiku and Obasanjo held sway in this country and their records are there for everyone to see,” he said.
The campaign spokesman further remarked that Atiku had the ability to search for talents to develop the country as he did while he was Vice president.
“Atiku is not just talking because he has the ability to search for talents irrespective of where they are from.
“Dr Okonjo Iweala and Professor Chukwuma Soludo who served as Minister of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, were discovered by Atiku and they made great impact during their tenure.”
On bringing peace back to the South-East, Aniagwu said Atiku had already enshrined peace and unity in his policy document “My Covenant With Nigerians”
“Atiku has made it very clear that he is going to discuss with both state and non-state actors and the crisis in the South-East is basically from non-state actors.
“Some people see them as agitators while others see them as militants but Atiku is not going to be involved in labeling. He will discuss the issues with them and good enough some of the issues are already known to him.
“Issues of under development and marginalization and he says he is going to address them to ensure that every Nigerian irrespective of where you are from is going to be brought on the decision table and once those issues are dealt with, the people agitating would have been assuaged to embrace peace,” he said.
Aniagwu who is also Delta State Commissioner for Information, said the party’s Vice-Presidential Candidate and Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa had addressed similar issues in the state to the extent that the creeks where there used to be agitations is now as peaceful as the upland.
“Atiku besides his pan Nigerian disposition also believed that that formula worked and will be adopted to bring lasting peace across the country, so we are quite convinced that Atiku will take decisions that will make everybody comfortable by forming a government of national unity,” Aniagwu added.
