Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and a former governor of Kaduna State Sen. Ahmed Makarfi have agreed to work for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to succeed in the 2019 general elections.
Tambuwal and Makarfi were among the 11 presidential aspirants on the PDP platform who lost to a former Vice President Abubakar at the party’s national convention held in Port Harcourt, on October 6 and 7, respectively.
The Sokoto State governor who spoke during the visit of the Chairman, PDP National Reconciliation Committee and governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, Chairman of the PDP Convention Planning Committee and governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa as well as the Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, on Monday in Abuja, said he was committed to ensuring Atiku’s victory and ending what he termed “governance by proxy”.
“The maladministration; the way the country is being run through proxies is unacceptable.
“So, we don’t want a situation whereby that will continue anytime after May 29. We want a situation whereby the President of Nigeria will be hands on, on issues of good governance, respect for the rule of law and the way this country is governed.
“So, I have given my commitment and I mean it, I am out for it. By the grace of God, we shall support Atiku Abubakar and PDP to win elections throughout Nigeria. I want to reassure you, our party men and women and Nigerians that I am committed to the success and victory of our party at the general elections, come February, 2019. We have had a robust and fruitful engagement on the way forward.
“I made my commitment immediately after the convention that I am going to support our candidate, Wazirin Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar 100 percent for us to have victory at the general election. So, I am not wavering, I am not looking back.
“Work has started for us to ensure that the PDP family remains united and other lovers of democracy come and partner with us for us to ensure that we convincingly win this election. It is not about my personal ambition. It is about this country,” he said.
In his remarks, Makarfi said the aspirants went to the convention as contestants but that the party won the election and not an individual, hence the need to work together for victory in 2019.
Makarfi said he had long years of political relationship with Atiku and would support him to clinch the presidential seat.
