Katsina State capital yesterday stood still as all roads led to the city centre for the campaign rally of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag bearer and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Muhammad Dikko Stadium, venue of the mega rally was filled to capacity by the party faithful and supporters, who thronged the stadium in their thousands dancing and singing praises of the PDP presidential candidate; the governorship candidate, Sen.Yakubu Lado, and the party.
No fewer than 91,000 erstwhile supporters of other political parties across the state led by the pioneer chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and two time Secretary to the Government of the State ( SGS) under Governor Aminu Bello Masari, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, formally defected to PDP at the event which had in attendance the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; Chairman of National Presidential Campaign Council, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel; Director General of the PCC, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Katsina – born former National Secretary of PDP, Sen. Umar Ibrahim Tsauri, among other chieftains of the party.
Before they stormed the venue, the PDP stalwarts pay courtesy call on the matriarch of the Yar’Aduas, Hajiya Dada, and received the royal blessing of the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.
At the palace, Atiku donated N50m to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other victims of insurgency and insecurity in the state, while empathizing with them and other residents of the state.
Addressing the mammoth crowd at the stadium, Atiku promised to reopen the nation’s international borders and introduce other measures
to arrest the falling standard of living in the country.
He also pledged to reposition the nation’s education and other sectors for the overall transformation of the country.
While decrying the performance of the ruling party in the state and federal levels, Atiku said: “Every infrastructure of note in Katsina was provided by PDP government; APC only brought hunger and insecurity. Don’t vote for it again.”
Mass defection hits Lagos APC as members decamp to PDP in Epe
***defectors drum supports for ATIKU/JANDOR
Hundreds of the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, today defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The defectors drummed support for the candidature of the Lagos PDP Governorship Candidate, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR), and his running mate, Olufunke Akindele and Atiku/Okowa in their mission to offer a breath of fresh air in the governance of the state and Nigeria.
The defection was consequent upon what they described as the unending deceit and deception within the party which they said, has not only caused harm to their personal development as politicians but also dangerous for the entrenchment of internal democracy within a political party and the state at large.
The JANDOR/Funke Gubernatorial Campaign Organization has described this development as a further indication of the wide support that the PDP, her presidential, guber, and other candidates enjoy from the good people of Lagos State.
While welcoming the defectors on behalf of the party, the State Deputy Chairman, Hon. Tai Benedict commends the decampees for their courage to quit the clueless and inept ruling party to join efforts with the PDP in salvaging the state from 23 years of neglect and bad governance.
He assured them that their rights and privileges as members of the main opposition party will not be denied for being new members. He notified them that there is no new entrant in PDP and that all bonafide members are equal stakeholders with no limits to what they can aspire to or get from the party.
Also commending the large numbers of defectors, a prominent leader of the party in Epe Local Government, Alh. Mutaz enjoined the group to hit the ground running in the mobilization of voters at the grassroots from their zones and wards. He promised them that the breath of fresh air agenda of the party’s governorship candidate will transform their painful experience while in the APC
Atiku plans to end petrol subsidy in first 100 days
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar has
said he will remove the controversial petrol subsidy, which could cost Nigeria up to $9 billion in 2022, a development that could plug a drain on the economy.
Atiku, who acknowledged that oil will continue to be key in turning Nigeria’s beleaguered economy around, said years of under-investment in infrastructure and large-scale theft have depressed oil production and brought untold misery.
“I will remove the fuel subsidy; within the first 100 days in office, we should be able to make a decision.” He promised to provide a comprehensive road map on how the proceeds from the petrol subsidy removal will be invested.
Attempts at privatising the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company, whose shares are owned by the federal government, were muddled, he said. “I will have to study the so-called privatisation and see how we can review it and make sure that it conforms with our expectations which is realising as much revenue as possible.”
The Nigerian economy is reeling from the effect of paying billions daily on subsidy. Nigeria recorded N16 trillion from crude oil sales between January to September, according to government data, but nothing often gets saved.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said last month that the official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into Nigeria’s official reserves has dried up steadily from above $3 billion monthly in 2014 to $0.
Analysts say lower oil production arising from crude theft and subsidy payments for refined petrol crimp foreign exchange receipts from crude oil sales.
“Subsidy payments, operation costs and low oil production are factors that limit the remittance of foreign earnings to CBN,” Etulan Adu, an oil and gas production engineer, said.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria earned N5.6 trillion in the first quarter, N5.9 trillion in the second quarter and N4.6 trillion in the third quarter of 2022.
Apart from Atiku, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress have all pledged to remove petrol subsidies. But these promises have failed to spur confidence because even Muhammadu Buhari said in 2014 that subsidy payments were fraudulent, won elections and continued paying.
Past governments have been unable to take the difficult decision to remove subsidies on account of fear of popular outrage and threats by labour groups.
Meanwhile, the Buhari government said it would stop paying for subsidies in June next year.
Atiku also pledged to reform the country’s multiple exchange rates with “a unified exchange rate or a maximum of two” in conjunction with the central bank. Some $10 billion would be allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises to create jobs, money he claimed would be raised by the privatisation of state-owned refineries and savings from fuel subsidies.
With a public debt of $103 billion, he said he would have “to approach our creditors to see how we can renegotiate and reschedule repayments”.
He said he also plans to cut down on public sector expenditure, which he described as “expenditure not in favour of development”.
On crime and security, Atiku said he would increase the number of police officers and other security service personnel and “train and equip them better”. He is also considering introducing state policing, a departure from Nigeria’s centralised force.
He said he planned to form a government of national unity that would include opposition politicians. When pressed if there could be a job for Obi, his running mate in 2019, he responded: “Why not?” Asked in what capacity, he said: “Let’s win the elections before thinking of roles people can play.”
2023: Why Nigerians will prefer Atiku to other candidates – Aniagwu
Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Charles Aniagwu says Nigerians would prefer to elect the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general election because he understands the issues plaguing the country.
Speaking on AIT, on Monday night, Aniagwu said Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa understood the issues more than other party candidates and have articulated a policy document “My Covenant With Nigerians” to address the myriad of challenges bedeviling the country.
The Presidential Campaign Spokesman stated that Atiku was bringing on board his wealth of experience as a successful businessman, a former Vice President and Chairman, National Economic Council to bear on the job if elected President in 2023.
According to Aniagwu, Atiku Abubakar represents a whole lot of positives for the country because he is that candidate that towers far above all the candidates in terms of capacity to govern, understanding of the issues and mental alertness.
“He has the requisite experience to deal with insecurity, economy recovery, bringing back jobs, infrastructural development and of course the need to unify the country.
“We believe that Atiku is that man who has all the capability to function effectively and sufficiently equipped to reasonably address all the issues plaguing the nation.
“If you look at the many issues he has put on the table you will know that he understands the issues, because when he commenced his campaign Atiku was very much prepared on what he intends to do to better the lives of Nigerians.
“He has clearly identified the issues of hunger and poverty, insecurity, disunity, a dysfunctional economy and he is very much prepared to tackle them,” he said.
Aniagwu who is also Commissioner for Information in Delta further said that Atiku Abubakar could be likened to a consultant with enough surgical and clinical experience to tackle the economic malaise and rescue Nigeria from the abyss created by the inept APC-led federal government.
He said Atiku-Okowa would win overwhelmingly across the country because of the party’s ability to field candidates in all the state and federal constituencies as well as Senatorial districts in the 2023 general election.
“Atiku ranks very high in assembling experts to solve the nation’s challenges and the support and enthusiasm for the Atiku-Okowa ticket is much more than we anticipated and we are grateful to Nigerians for the massive support,” Aniagwu added.
