Joseph Bakare
The Immediate past Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has declared his intention for the 2019 presidential election.
Makarfi revealed this to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday.
He said he had decided to seek the PDP ticket after consulting widely, adding, “I have been consulting across the country since I left as the chairman of the party.
“It is just consultations and not endorsement.
“But it gives you an opportunity to feel the pulse and it will tell whether to go forward or not to go forward.
“The consultations have been quite positive and I believe it is fair enough to come to the conclusion that one should join other equally capable party men and women who have shown interest in seeking the party’s nomination for the 2019 presidential election.
“I have known governance for sometime at the state level.
“I served Kaduna for three years as Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning.
“I came in from the private sector.
“I have private sector experience, especially banking.
“I governed this complex state for eight years.
“I have legislative experience, having been in the Senate for a two terms of eight years.
“I got a bonanza when the party leadership fell on my lap, to know about managing a political party.
“If you cannot manage your party, even if you are elected, you will have problems governing.
“If you can’t manage the legislature and build cordial relationship such that key legislations that can take this country forward are passed, then governance becomes complex for you.
“If you cannot manage complex society such as Kaduna, which is mini-Nigeria, you cannot manage Nigeria.
“These, to me, are advantages but of course it does not mean that it is a forgone conclusion.
“Somebody who may have not prepared himself in governance at all may find himself in government but the country will pay a price for that.
“I believe I have these advantages.
“Managing complex security issues is not new to me.
“Managing complex people of societies is not new to me.
“If you look at it from that perspective, I am prepared for the job.
“I served as the Governor of Kaduna State where I was able to mobilise the citizens of Kaduna State, irrespective of where they came from in Nigeria, earned their confidence and they worked with me and supported me and we were able to restore normalcy that people thought was impossible.
“If I am nominated and eventually get elected, my philosophy will not be to go after the opposition.
“It is to see how I will work with the opposition in any area for the good of all of us, while maintaining our independent political opinion over any matter.
“If I get nominated and get elected and I find somebody in APC (All Progressives Congress) who can help me do what I want to do, I will look for you without demanding that you join the PDP.
“I will leave you to make that decision on your own.
“That is the kind of politics that I want to see happening in Nigeria.
“We must also thank the APC for working for us because they have been working for us.
“They have refused to govern well, they have been fighting each other.
“They are many things for which we can thank them.
“There is no way the executive and the legislature can work again as one.
“There is no way the party can be cohesive again.
“There are elements in government fighting each other and there is nobody to call them to order.
“We should not expend our energy when somebody is working for us.”