The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa

  • Tambuwal warns PDP supporters against idle talks

    Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has warned supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state against gossips and idle talks.

    Tambuwal spoke on Thursday night during a PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Sokoto.

    The governor said that avoidance of gossips and idle talks by the PDP members was necessary in order to consolidate the recent popularity attained by the party in the state.

    “Our meeting today was convened to dispel insinuations of an imaginary rift among the party leaders in the state.

    “Such rumors were being circulated by the opposition in order to create doubt in the minds of the people of Sokoto state against the PDP.

    Read Also:Tambuwal promises to mobilise support for Atiku

    “I therefore wish to generously clarify that the leaders and the leadership of PDP in Sokoto state are united and focused,” Tambuwal said.

    He said that his administration was committed to running an open door policy and welcomed constructive suggestions, pointing out that this could lead to the party’s victory during the 2019 general elections.

    Earlier the former governor of the state Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, reaffirmed that the party remained united in the state.

    Bafarawa explained that there was no misunderstanding between him and Tambuwal, adding that rumors of such a misunderstanding were false and baseless.

    He appealed to the people of the state to continue to support the governor in his efforts to preposition the economy of the state.

    NAN

  • Bafarawa: I left N13bn in Sokoto State Government’s treasury

    A frontline presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, said he left N13 billion in the Sokoto State Government’s treasury after his tenure as governor.

    Bafarawa disclosed this in Owerri on Thursday at the PDP party state secretariat during a visit to party stakeholders to solicit support for his presidential ambition.

    The former governor said during his eight years in office he did not receive any salary, but rather he used the money to develop the state.

    The presidential contender said his victory over the criminal charges against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission ( EFCC ) showed that he was a politician with a clean record.

    He said his ambition for the presidential position was borne out of his zeal to revive the country’s economy for the benefit of all citizens.

    “I have experience and the most qualified to preside over the present Nigeria and as a good manager I will correct all the anomalies.

    Read Also: I will support any PDP presidential aspirant – Bafarawa

    “PDP delegates should not make any mistake during the party’s primaries by electing inexperienced aspirants for this job, that is why I have come to present myself to you,” he said.

    In his reaction, a PDP Board of Trustee member, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, described Bafarawa as a `true democrat and detribalised politician’.

    He said Bafarawa had a very strong political track record which stood him out among other aspirants.

    Iwuanyawu, who expressed optimism that South-East would not be marginalised under Bafarawa, pointed out that most of his close allies were Igbos.

    PDP Chairman in Imo, Mr Babatunde Ezekwe, assured Bafarawa of the state delegates’ support.

    “We are strongly behind your aspiration, go and do your underground work well; as for us we are working tirelessly to ensure that PDP wins in Imo and the presidency,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Bafarawa has been on tour of the South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.

  • Bafarawa: no president can succeed without ingenuity of Ndigbo

    Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, a People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ) Presidential aspirant, has said that nobody can rule Nigeria without tapping the education and business ingenuity of Ndi Igbo.

    Bafarawa, a two time governor of Sokoto State, made this known when Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi hosted him in Enugu on Tuesday.

    He was in Enugu to consult and intimate the party in the state about his intention to vie for the country’s president.

    “Ndi Igbo are partners in Nigeria unity, cohesion and political stability; nobody can govern the country without Ndi Igbo,’’ he declared.

    He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the 2019 general elections were free, fair and credible.

    Read Also: I won’t quit PDP even if I lose ticket – Bafarawa

    Bafarawa said that Buhari had no alternative than to allow for credible poll in the forthcoming elections because “he is a beneficiary of free and fair poll in the country’’.

    He commended Gov Ugwuanyi and the state PDP for the wonderful reception accorded him and delegates and promised to carry everybody along if elected as the country’s president.

    “I will carry everybody along politically in building a virile, united and prosperous Nigeria. This is my bond to Nigeria and Nigerians,’’ Bafarawa declared.

    Earlier, Ugwuanyi, described Bafarawa as an ambassador of peace and good governance adding that the presidential aspirant was one of Nigeria’s politicians with grassroots followership.

    Ugwuanyi said that the people of Enugu respect Bafarawa’s role in unity of the country.

  • Bafarawa seeks Obasanjo’s support over presidential bid

    Former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, on Sunday visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to seek his (Obasanjo) blessings over his presidential ambition in 2019.

    Bafarawa, who led a delegation of his campaign group to Obasanjo in Abeokuta, told the elder statesman that the visit was to seek his “prayers, advice and support”.

    Bafarawa described Obasanjo as his leader and mentor, attributing his success as Sokoto State governor between 1999 and 2007 to advices from the former president.

    He explained that based on Obasanjo’s advice on savings, he left about N11.8 billion in Sokoto State treasury when he left office in 2007.

    The former governor recalled that Obasanjo visited Sokoto State 14 times to commission various projects, adding that he also replicated an all-inclusive government ran by the former president at the Federal  level.

    Bafarawa hailed Obasanjo for his continued interventions at critical stages of the nation’s history, noting that many Nigerians had misunderstood the intentions of the elder statesman.

    He specifically commended the former president for laying the foundation for the crusade against corruption, saying that nobody can successfully lay claim to fighting corruption without recourse to what Obasanjo had done.

    Responding, Obasanjo noted that “Nigeria can be better than what it is now” and pledged his support for any step to lift it up.

    “My own strong belief is that Nigeria deserves better than we have now and we can get better than what we have.

    “I believe the task of moving Nigeria to an enviable height is a collective responsibility and if we fail to act together as we ought to, the nation will not be where it is supposed to be in 2019,” he said.

    The former president recalled his role during Nigeria’s civil war between 1966 and 1970 as well as his travail in prison. “I have made sacrifices for Nigeria and will continue to do so,” he said.

    The elder statesman called for more attention to the welfare of the less-privileged Nigerians and increased educational development, particularly, in the North-East geographical location of the nation to end insurgency.

    He called for new strategies to fix Nigeria, adding that: “we have continued to tread on the old path”.

    Obasanjo advised Bafarawa to strengthen the leadership qualities he identified in him (Bafarawa), including humility, diligence, selflessness and openness.

    The former president also prayed for God’s guidance and support for Bafarawa’s presidential ambition.

  • Herdsmen killings may threaten 2019 polls if…, ex-Sokoto governor Bafarawa warns

    Herdsmen killings may threaten 2019 polls if…, ex-Sokoto governor Bafarawa warns

    A former  governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, fears the 2019 elections may be stalled unless the  federal government quickly finds an enduring solution to the persistent killings in Benue State.

    Bafarawa, speaking yesterday during a condolence visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on the recent mayhem in the state, said there can be no election in a state of uncertainty and unrest.

    ‘’Why would there be elections in 2019 where there is no peace?” he asked.

    “The most important thing you can bring to society is peace. When you bring peace to them, then you have brought life and you can talk of election,” he said.

    He attributed the Benue killings to foreign Fulani, saying, ‘’the Nigerian Fulani who settled and live among Tiv people speak Tiv fluently.

    “But these immigrants don’t speak the Tiv language and do know who is who.

    “Therefore, the problem is solvable. What government needs to do is to block these people from coming into the country.

    ‘’ The local  Fulani   l know  carry sticks and crack  jokes with everyone; they don’t carry guns.”

    He asked President Muhammadu Buhari to  involve all  stakeholders, irrespective of their political afflictions, to come together and solve the problem.

    He donated N10million,through Ortom, to the victims of the herdsmen attacks.

    Governor Samuel Ortom, in his remark, thanked the former Sokoto governor for the show of solidarity and for coming to proffer a roadmap on how to solve the herdsmen problem.

    He said that herdsmen had turned themselves into gods and had given themselves immunity because of the action and inaction of government responsible for the protection of lives and property of citizens.

    Ortom insisted that the herdsmen and farmers crisis is a national problem that needs a national solution which government at all levels need to give serious attention before it consumes the nation.

    ’’Only yesterday the house belonging to former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Augustine Utsaha, was burnt down and several people killed with properties destroyed in the Guma LGA,’’ he said.