Garba Umar
The Garba Umar Gubernatorial Campaign Organization yesterday warned against awarding the state gubernatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to a fresh aspirant who did not participated in the party screening process.
Umar in a press statement signed by its Campaign Director General Ahmed Yusuf said the new aspirant has neither bought a nomination form nor screened for the election and has never declared any interest to contest the gubernatorial election.
The campaign organization said One retired general is being mentioned as the possible candidate to been conscripted to stand for the governorship elections.
According to Yusuf, “some opportunistic politicians who have foisted their power on the people of the state have dubiously devised a new plan to pick a Muslim governorship candidate from the Southern Senatorial Zone on the pretext of satisfying the nebulous agitation for power shift.”
He describe the plot as not only a slap on the integrity of the state but a brazen attempt to subvert the democratic right and will of the people, “This is the latest in the plethora of frustrating plots to stop Alhaji Garba Umar from generously and democratically being elected as the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state. “While we are not against power shift, the constitutional power to take this decision rest squarely with the electorates of Taraba State and not on a select group of privilege people plotting to subvert the rights of the people, just to satisfy their personal interest. As far as we know, zoning political office is not constitutional and therefore cannot be foisted on the state by desperate politicians pursuing their personal and hateful agenda.” Yusuf said PDP delegates are poised to elect their candidates for election into various offices during the forth-coming general elections. “This process which is guided by the Nigerian Constitution is uniform throughout the country and therefore the right of every Taraban cannot be taken away under any guise as this will neither be tolerated nor accepted,” he said. The organization however said it will neither accept nor tolerate any attempt to impose candidates on the people without going through the democratic process, “as any attempt to do so will be resisted with every option available to us. “The beauty of democracy is to accord the people their right to elect candidates of their choice and not to narrow their choices to people who have not declared interest in contesting election let alone articulating any programme of development for the state.”
The Full Statement below A PRESS STATEMENT BY THE GARBA UMAR GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION Emerging reports have revealed that there is a fresh plot to subvert the will of Tarabans and disregard all well-known principles of democracy by unilaterally awarding the governorship ticket to a neutral candidate.
Report reaching us indicates that faced with eminent defeat in the governorship primaries, some opportunistic politicians who have foisted their power on the people of the state have dubiously devised a new plan to pick a Muslim governorship candidate from the Southern Senatorial Zone on the pretext of satisfying the nebulous agitation for power shift. This is not only a slap on the integrity of the state but a brazen attempt to subvert the democratic right and will of the people, This is the latest in the plethora of frustrating plots to stop Alhaji Garba Umar from generously and democratically being elected as the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state. While we are not against power shift, the constitutional power to take this decision rest squarely with the electorates of Taraba State and not on a select group of privilege people plotting to subvert the rights of the people, just to satisfy their personal interest. As far as we know, zoning political office is not constitutional and therefore cannot be foisted on the state by desperate politicians pursuing their personal and hateful agenda. The right of every electorate to choose their leader is a sacred responsibility or duty and not at the whims and caprices of any individual or group. We strongly believe that one day the governorship seat will move naturally to any part of the state including the Southern zone, depending on the credibility of the candidates. The members of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, in the state have already elected their delegates and the delegates are poised to elect their candidates for election into various offices during the forth-coming general elections. This process which is guided by the Nigerian Constitution is uniform throughout the country and therefore the right of every Taraban cannot be taken away under any guise as this will neither be tolerated nor accepted. We therefore warn that we will neither accept nor tolerate any attempt to impose candidates on the people without going through the democratic process, as any attempt to do so will be resisted with every option available to us. The beauty of democracy is to accord the people their right to elect candidates of their choice and not to narrow their choices to people who have not declared interest in contesting election let alone articulating any programme of development for the state. We wish to advise all aspirants to various offices to subject themselves to the electoral process instead of seeking to get to office through the window. We are also convinced that Tarabans are matured enough to decide the movement of political offices to various zones in the state, and at the appropriate time power will shift to credible candidates in any part of the state.
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