Governor Ibrahim Shekarau
In his acceptance speech, Malam Shekarau said he was gratified to witness a free, fair and transparent primaries that led to his emergence and he promised to tackle corruption if elected president. He said, “Election symbolised the answer to the dreams and aspirations of fellow Nigerians to work out actual ways of national development and bring Nigeria among the top 20 economies of the world.”
The four aspirants had earlier undergone thorough screening and were cleared by the Senator Ahmed Sani-led screening panel to contest.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed January 15 as the deadline for the conclusion of primaries and submission of candidates for the April polls, but it extended the deadline for the ANPP following the party’s inability to hold its special 2011 presidential convention at the Eagles Square, Abuja on Saturday due to the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration that was held there.
Chairman of the convention committee and former Edo State governor Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who told newsmen of the deadline extension by INEC said, “We wrote to the electoral body on the challenges we were facing concerning the venue of the convention. They reasoned with us because we have published the date of our convention in the media but we could not hold it that night because of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. We have respect for our military, our country and our president that is why we have to conduct the primaries today (yesterday) using the same venue. We have that agreement in writing that even if there is a slippage into January 16, INEC will accommodate us because what happened was totally outside our control.”
He said the military, police, State Security Services (SSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) sent 500 men each to the convention, in addition to 200 federal highway patrol men.
ANPP’s National Chairman Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, while declaring open the convention, said the party has been in opposition for too long and that it will take over power from the PDP. “We therefore advise the ruling party to start preparing to play the role of the leading opposition political party in Nigeria,” Onu said.
Each of the four aspirants was given five minutes to address the delegates before the voting commenced. Shekarau, in his speech, said the occasion was a day of great of history, a great moment of change for ANPP and for the country as a whole and that the expected change in Nigeria would come with the election of a credible and experienced leader to lead the way.
While decrying the slow pace of development in the power, education, energy and agricultural sectors, he promised an accelerated change in the country. He said, “The change I am talking about is the restoration of trust and confidence in the running of government in Nigeria. This is the foundation of good governance in Nigeria.”
Chief Akande, on his part, expressed regret on the dwindling fortunes of ANPP from nine governors in 1999 to three today, saying the party needs a rebirth and that he was presenting himself as the pivot of that rebirth.
Alhaji Bashir Tofa advised the delegates to see the convention as the last chance for ANPP to progress and give Nigerians the best, saying “Nigeria yesterday was always better than today’’, hence the need for change. “Nigerians and Nigeria just need to change or be short-changed,” he said.
Alhaji Dauda Birmah lamented the backwardness of the country due to bad leadership and promised to give good leadership to redress the injustice of the past. He also promised to bring about positive change in education, agriculture and power sectors, among others, while recalling that he stepped down eight years ago for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. He who fights and runs, lives to fight another day, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment