Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu
Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu has on Saturday declared that he was yet to decide if he would run for the 2015 presidential election.
Aliyu, while addressing newsmen on Saturday, in Kaduna at a one-day North Central Zonal Security Awareness Workshop in Minna, dissociated himself from the posters depicting him to be seeking the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket for the 2015 election.
The governor said he had not ordered anyone to produce any poster for him, adding that he had no intentions of doing so yet.
He said as a loyal member of the ruling party, he would abide by the party’s guideline of June 2014 deadline before making any declaration of his political ambition.
The Governor said he had earlier ordered the removal of posters of Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, which flooded the state about a week earlier, in order to keep with the party’s directive.
Aliyu said, “I appeal to all Nigerians and Politicians in general, let us reduce the tension and the heat in the polity, let us give President Goodluck Jonathan the chance to succeed; and let me task you that, if you see anybody placing any posters depicting me as running for the Presidency between now and June 2014, please remove it.
“I am saying this because, I understand that some people who are trying to heat up the polity will pick some of us (governors) and put our posters as if we are the ones doing it. I ordered the removal the posters of Lamido and Amaechi in Niger from here (Minna) to Suleja because it is not time yet. In the time table of INEC and many other political parties, my party, the PDP said ‘no politicking in that dimension now.’
“I am not the hypocritical type that will be hiding under posters. When the time comes and God says I am going to run, I will not shy away, but I have not decided.
“We must reduce the tension and stop heating up the polity. If we do that, even the police will be able to do their job better.”
While calling calling for the establishment of border police to help in strengthening national security along the borders, Aliyu noted that the nation’s security workforce was grossly inadequate to police the nation.
He called for suitable accommodation, social welfare and equipment for the police, in a bid to boost their morale to perform their task effectively.
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