Senator Bayero Usman Nafada is the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe state in the forthcoming Saturday’s governorship and state assembly elections.
Nafada, the pioneer Speaker of Gombe State House of Assembly between 1998 and 2003, was also a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and now the senator representing Gombe North senatorial district in the National Assembly. Because of his impeccable service in the course of duties in all these places aforementioned, he will be overwhelmingly elected as the governor of Gombe state under the PDP on Saturday.
The good works of Senator Nafada will testify for him when Gombe people troop out en masse on Saturday, March 16, to elect their new governor. Nafada, as the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, is hopeful of winning the Gombe governorship election in the 2019 general elections. This is because Gombe is a PDP state and will remain so, and the people are satisfied with the PDP leadership.
The people of Gombe state have seen and benefited from the dividends of democracy under the pro-people government of Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, which touch all aspects of the people’s life.
The chances of the Peoples Democratic Party in Gombe state in the forthcoming governorship and state house of assembly elections are very bright and all has been set by party members towards the success of the party.
The good people of Gombe will not be deceived by the high number of votes garnered by the presidential candidate of the APC last Saturday. The governorship and presidential elections are different ball games. Moreover, in modern elections, apart from party leanings, personality plays a crucial role in the election of a candidate. A clear example is the election of a candidate on the platform of Accord Party (AP) in the stronghold of APC and home state of President Muhammadu Buhari against an incumbent on the platform of a ruling party in the polling unit of a sitting president!
In our state, the political party the people know is the PDP as far as politics and good governance are concerned. PDP is synonymous with development and welfare of the people in Gombe state, especially under the sitting governor, His Excellency Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, who has successfully transformed the state to an enviable height.
Under Dankwambo, one of the few governors in the north elected on the platform of PDP in 2015 general election, no one can deny the fact that all the sectors of the economy, namely, education, agriculture, health, roads infrastructure, social welfare programmes and the like, have been provided .
Nigerians are all living witnesses to the Buhari and APC flood that had washed away the PDP in the Northern parts of the country during the 2015 general elections, but met a brick wall in Gombe state.
Governor Dankwambo defied all the APC’s propaganda and emerged victorious in the state governorship election. History will repeat itself in the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections on Saturday because the APC government has failed Nigerians. If PDP could win in 2015 you can imagine what will happen on Saturday now that the APC’s ineptitude in governance have been exposed,
APC’s ineptitude and unfulfilled promises were the reasons many people left the party when they realised that it lacks implementable manifestoes,
In Gombe state, APC members are usually the problems of the state because the majority of the members are businessmen and women but not persons who go into politics for humanitarian service of their people, but to accumulate wealth at the expense of the masses.
It is ridiculous for a person who had thwarted President Buhari’s budget in the National Assembly to turn to Gombe and talk about party ideology. A person who has made APC an individual investment in Gombe state is not worth the people’s trust.
Politics, like many useful ventures, requires experience and efficiency. The good people of Gombe, I am sure, will not do themselves a disservice by going for a candidate on the job training. Gombe state will not elect someone who doesn’t have the basic knowledge of the workings of government and legislation. Such a man if elected, will turn back the hands of time of the state.
Therefore, my fellow citizens of Gombe state, let us not allow that to happen. Let us come out en masse and elect the person we trust. This call is state service which all my compatriots must obey.
Nafada is a man who was in the State House of Assembly as the Speaker and later moved to the National Assembly where he served as the Deputy Speaker and now as a Senator. Can the PDP aspirant match him in governance credentials? Can a mere commissioner in the state compare his CV with the rich pedigree of Nafada?
Nafada understands that government is a continuous process. During his recent interview on national dailies he said, “We came from deep-rooted democratic cycle from the state to the National Assembly, from Green to the Red Chambers and coming out with a lot of experiences and accomplishments. I will deploy such skills and experiences to further develop the state and boost its economy to more advanced and sustainable status. I’ve to continue from where my predecessor has stopped and consolidate on the gains of the democracy the state has been enjoying.”
What more do you want to hear from a governor to be?
It’s normal in politics that defection is accepted, but Jamilu Gwamna, from nowhere joined the PDP in 2018 when actually he was heard in Gombe politics in 2007. This is the same man who wants to reap where he did not sow by contesting for the Number One seat in Gombe state.
Nafada overwhelmingly defeated Hammasaleh in the senatorial contest in 2015 and will repeat the feat in Gombe governorship election on Saturday. You can imagine how someone who could not win at the senatorial level will dream of contesting the gubernatorial election. But the most important thing is that they all have the prerogative to join any party of their choice.
For Nafada victory is sure because Gombe PDP remains united and strong as ever. The PDP family stands with him for the success of the party at various levels.
“If a former commissioner in the state will feel capable of governing the state, I think a former Speaker in the State House of Assembly, former Deputy Speaker in the National Assembly and a serving Senator is more capable, qualified and deserving and we must give him the chance.
“In politics, voters are the determining factors at all levels. I want to assure you that Gombe is a PDP state and I’m very optimistic that, God willing, we are going to win the 2019 elections at all levels with or without the federal might.”
As Gombe citizen, I urge the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to exercise its independence and provide a level playing field for all candidates by conducting free, fair, and credible elections. If this is done on Saturday, victory is sure for Nafada and all PDP candidates.
I can’t wait to celebrate with Nafada.
Adamu writes from Gombe.
