IT’S TIME TO REBUILD NIGERIA, TOGETHER!

Dear Esteemed PDP Delegates,

I humbly write to you to draw your attention to something that will spare us further agonies of misgovernance as the elections draw close.

Ahead of our country’s general election, we all observed the soaring number of aspirants. The trend even took a new dimension recently with the overwhelming number of candidates vying for the presidential seat under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties.

However, while the large number of political gladiators in the presidential race may be unprecedented and could be overwhelming for delegates across board, the wheat can be separated from the chaff by the assessment of their evidence-based track record and undefiled antecedent as well as the will power to act.

The paradigm shift from government to governance and from fruitless clichés to realistic and pragmatic development is now on the horizon.

It’s no longer news that the terrifying challenges in the country in all sectors requires a candidate that is indisputably fit to be a flag bearer of the PDP in the imminent presidential race.

Conversely, if the foregoing attributes of a suitable candidate that could sail the boat of Nigeria to the admirable destination is anything to go by, then I can confidently assure you that the search is over at the discovery of a man who is worth his weight in gold, called Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

We are living witnesses to the daunting challenges facing our nation. It is needless to start mentioning them because Nigerians are wearing the shoe and they know where it pinches. Also, the solutions to these challenges are well known and some even documented in blueprints of various Ministries, Departments and (MDAs) of government at all levels. However, the missing link is the political will to ACT!

Amid these irregularities, the PDP, having lost two consecutive presidential elections in the last seven years, now has another opportunity to elect a qualified candidate who knows his onions to face the ruling party in the contest and deliver victory to the main opposition party, hence the popular choice of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR.

Why is Tambuwal Suitably Qualified?

Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal apart from being a trained Lawyer and life member of Body of Benchers, has been an astute public servant and Chief Executive Officer at two separate arms of government: Legislature and Executive. He is a man of unquestionable character throughout his over two-decade political career.

Now that Nigerians are more divided than ever before, the PDP needs someone that is acceptable to all Nigerians across ethno-religious divide to score its political goals. Having travelled all the 360 constituencies of Nigeria as a former Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tambuwal is a true unifier who understands the country’s diversity and can manage it well as demonstrated by the handling of all the appointments at the 7th House of Representative during his stewardship as the Speaker.

Besides, the party needs someone like Tambuwal not only because of his stellar reputation, but capacity, competence and character and all it takes to win an election.

On security; as part of his commitment to strengthening formidable security apparatus in the state included signing into law the Security Challenges (Containment) Order, provision of over 500 vehicles and 765 motorcycles as well as 132 housing as well as information gathering drones to federal security agencies. Not to leave out fueling of the vehicles and regular payment of their allowances.

Tambuwal understands the issues regarding the daunting insecurity in Nigeria and he will work with relevant stakeholders in strategizing and deploying the requisite resources and technology towards tackling this challenge across the country. 

Strike actions are now recurring decimal in the academic calendar of our higher institutions, from the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics ASUP taking turns to downtool, while their counterpart at the Colleges of Education (COEASU) are equally drumming to follow suit.

While this nonchalant attitude by the federal government towards education which is considered the bedrock of national development is highly condemnable, the PDP can be rest assured that the current storm in the nation’s education sector would soon be over when Tambuwal clinches the party’s presidential ticket and goes to win at the general elections.

The answer is simple! Proper funding and adequate allocation has been the major challenge of these higher institutions and that would definitely not be a problem under the watch of Tambuwal, who is currently allocating 29% of the Sokoto State budget to education, surpassing the UNESCO’s recommendation of 26%. The gesture had earned him several UNESCO awards of Excellence in the funding of Education.

Obviously, the enormous task of the presidency and the huge challenges in various sectors in the country require a vibrant leader who would not be running the affairs of the country from the hospital, thus the leading PDP presidential aspirant (Tambuwal) is the right choice being a bridge builder between the younger and older generation. Specifically, at 56 he is not too young to run and not too old to lead.

Tambuwal’s fiscal policies in Sokoto State are topnotch. He revived the industrial and commercial sector, got the federal government’s nod as the best performing state following the disbursement of N123.34bn grants to states. The federal government also applauded the governor’s leadership style on ease of doing business in Nigeria, being the second best performing state across the country.

Also, his track record on Transparency and Accountability has proven the fact that he is capable of tackling the endemic corrupt practices in the country. This is evident in the recent World Bank record rating Sokoto as the most transparent state in Nigeria for its commitment to the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability programme after the implementation of the Bank’s $22million grant.

Tambuwal administration initiated automation of Internally Generated Revenue IGR, paving the way for no-cash policy and blocking loopholes. He also edged out ghost workers through his Payroll Harmonization and Modernization initiative. These feats could also be expanded to rescue the current sinking economy of Nigeria from total collapse, if the symbol of good governance (Tambuwal) is given the opportunity.

On worker’s welfare, Sokoto state was amongst the first states in Nigeria to comply with the N30,000 minimum wage and ensures prompt payment of salaries in the state, at same time the government has cleared blacklog of gratuity of over 2.5 billion and 1.2 billion in 2016 and 2017 respectively and still sustains the monthly payment of 100 million.

On 35% Affirmative Action, Sokoto state scored high with 3 Female Commissioners, 3 Permanent Secretaries, 7 DGs, 4 Special Advisers, 69 Councilors and many Directors and Heads of Departments.

In addition to his qualities, he symbolizes Good governance and from his background he understands the workings of the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive arms of government. He is widely accepted across ethno-religious divide and possesses the right Temperament; these are important factors to Nigeria’s stability and prosperity.

This is a passionate appeal to party faithful and delegates nationwide to take advantage of this opportunity to right all the wrongs and vote with conscience as we can’t afford to get it wrong this time.

I plead with us to vote with nobility remembering that we have no other country than Nigeria and we are all in this ship together. It is important to note; the choice you make at the primaries will determine if the ship successfully sails to shore or sinks in the deep seas.

Nigeria’s fate is pinned on you to present a credible and detribalized candidate. We are counting on your patriotism to vote right and ensure your votes count.

With our aggravated challenges, bringing our country back from the brink is an economic, moral, political and social imperative. Nigeria is at a crossroad and needs to take effective decisions on its next political and governance steps and we believe that the Mutawallen Sokoto is capable to deliver!

Together We Shall Rebuild Nigeria!

God bless you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

PRINCE DANIEL, arpa

Spokesperson

Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO)

[email protected]