The event which was held at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja had members of the 28 Senators and 74 members of the House of Reps in attendance as well as past and present Governors. Former PDP Chairmen, Audu Ogbeh and Kawu Baraje were also there, same for Senators Chris Ngige, George Akume, Kabiru Gaya and Bukar Abba.
While speaking about Dr. Kwankwaso, Senator Akume stated that "if he (Kwankwaso) were the president, there wouldn't have been the abduction of Chibok girls. He was Defence Minister and there was security. We need such men. He can hold his own in any part of the world".
Akume did not leave without taking a swipe at the present leadership of the country as he said "we don't hate our President, Dr.Jonathan. He could be a good man but his ideas are very bad".
In the citation, read by Senator Ngige, Kwankwaso's journey was outlined as the people were reminded that he was a civil servant and he retired as a Principal Engineer in 1997 after serving for 17 years. In 1992, he was elected into the House of Representatives where he became the Deputy Speaker. After the dissolution of the National Assembly by the Abacha administration, Dr. Kwankwaso was elected as a delegate to the national conference.
In 1999, he was elected the 15th governor of Kano State. His achievements include the introduction of free feeding for pupils and free maternal care as well as the establishment of the Kano State University of Science and Technology.
In his declaration speech, Dr. Kwankwaso said "positive change is possible. We are agents of change, we are the change."
Speaking further, the Kano State Governor affirmed that "it is only the APC that has what it takes to stop the misrule of the PDP and stop the stinking rot and decay in the country. We are the only party that practices internal democracy, that believes in free and fair election as the only lifeline for sustaining democracy."
Listing what would be the priorities of his government, Dr. Kwankwaso mentioned the "killing of the cancer of corruption that has eaten so deeply into our value system." He went further that "the protection of corruption by the PDP government leaves no one in doubt that the government is working to impoverish Nigerians. We must stop them".
The economy was also listed as one of the priorities. "Nobody builds a strong economy on insecurity, brigandage and mayhem. Strong economies are not built on lies and half truths. We cannot be different. The reality on ground is a sharp contrast from the cooked up statistics", he said.
He also disclosed that he would cut the cost of running government and cut wastage like he did in Kano. He went on to explain that the private sector has a place in the revitalization of the economy, pointing out that one of the tools he plans to use is cutting the cost of running businesses.
Comments
Post a Comment