Immediate past Nigerian minister of information, Labaran Maku has finally dumped his darling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pick the gubernatorial ticket of All Prgressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Nasarawa state in the next general elections.
Maku had resigned from the federal cabinet of President Gooduck Jonathan a couple of months ago to contest the governorship primary of PDP in Nasarawa state which he eventually failed to clinch.
The former garrulous information minister, whose candidature was presented by the Nasarawa State Chairman of APGA Chief John Amakor, to the leaders and members of APGA in Lafian, the state capital today thanked the leadership of APGA at the state and the national level for the rare and unique opportunity given to them to represent the party in the governorship election. Also presented to the leadership of the party in the state is a onetime Chairman of Obi Local Government Alhaji Ibrahim Habu as Maku’s running mate.
according to Maku, his choice would reposition APGA to take over the leadership of Nasarawa State in the elections this year, adding: “On behalf of Alhaji Ibrahim Habu and I, we want to reassure the leadership and members of APGA in Nasarawa State that in choosing us to lead you into the next election, you have chosen the very best Nasarawa State has for the election. I can say without equivocation that in Alhaji Ibrahim Habu and I, Nasarawa State has for the first time an opportunity in 19 years to change the history of the state positively.”
Maku said that having served in various capacities in public office, he and his running mate had acquired vast experience in public administration, which placed them in a vantage position to deliver Nasarawa State from the shackles of misrule.
The immediate past Information Minister stated that as an activist and a social crusader, he would not give up in the struggle to ensure that Nasarawa North Senatorial Zone produce a governor for the first time in the history of the state.
He said that he would not be discouraged by the gang-up and manipulation that denied him the ticket of the PDP in the primaries and had resolved to pursue his governorship ambition in another political party in the interest of equity, fairness and justice for the people of Nasarawa North.
Maku decried the cycle of violence that gripped Nasarawa State under the APC and attributed the crises to bad leadership, which was bent on destroying and displacing communities perceived to be opposed to the APC in the state.
He said that the priority of every leader should be the creation of conducive environment that would engender unity, peace and progress, adding that leadership remained the most important factor in any society, yet good leadership had eluded Nasarawa State in the last three and a half years of APC rule.
Maku remarked that when elected, he would pursue peace through reconciliation and the promotion of unity without inhibition.
He charged the youth to take the lead in his campaign in order to guarantee their future and that of posterity by returning Nasarawa State to the path of peace, prosperity and development.
He promised to follow the footsteps of President Goodluck Jonathan by giving women the opportunity to play crucial role in his proposed administration.
Also speaking, Maku’s running mate, Alhaji Ibrahim Habu said the Alago people had resolved to follow Maku because he remained the most dependable candidate among the governorship contenders in Nasarawa State.
He was confident that Maku would ensure fairness and justice to all segments of society when elected governor, even as he lamented how governance was privatized under the APC in Nasarawa State with severe consequences on the public service and the local government system, which he said had collapsed under the leadership of Al-Makura.
He described Maku as a grass roots politician, who would judiciously utilize the state’s resources for development having shun the lure to amass wealth in the various high offices he had held. [myad]
