The Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase has described All Progressives Congress, APC’s presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima as an excellent choice for Nigeria in the 2023 general election.
He was speaking when he received the Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign Organisation who were on a courtesy call in his office.
Hon. Wase said out of all the candidates in other political parties, none has the qualities and capacity of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Politics is about development. What you can do, what you can offer. It is not about sentiment. Sentiment doesn’t work. I think we are on good cause. I attended to a journalist some few days ago when I went to congratulate alongside my colleagues to congratulate the Vice President Insha Allah 2023. The journalists asked me about whether we have issues regarding the Muslim-Muslim ticket. And my answer to him was that, we have a Muslim-Muslim here in the House of Reps as Speaker and Deputy Speaker. I don’t know how many people we have converted, if it is about religion. It is about delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. We have had a Christian-Christian Senate President and Deputy Senate President for eight good years in the National Assembly. So, some of these emotions and sentiments being expressed are done by those who want to gain cheaply access to power and other things and cause confusion in the society. What we should be after is competency. Who can offer and give us the best. And there is no doubt, the choice of Asiwaju, first I want to say, power comes from God. He has demonstrated his capacity. He has given out his best. He has been in the political terrain for years. He has developed people. There is no segment of the society that you go that you won’t have one person or the other that he has helped out or touched. And I believed that he was the candidate to beat. I have not seen any candidate in any political party that can match his achievements. I’ve not seen. And I have been strong, I have been honest, none.
“There are an array of ministers and chief executives who were the students of his own school of thought and political alignments. There is no politician in this country that can match his own contribution and what he has done. He is the first to demonstrate and we have a lot to showcase. When the time comes we will speak out.
“In Lagos, where as governor, I have a colleague here who served as local government chairman and a councillor, Rurum from Kano State. I had a colleague here 2007, currently the chairman of APC, or he was chairman of APC in Kwara. We served together, we came to the parliament in 2007. From Kwara, he was a member of the House of Reps. Faleke from Kogi here who went to do service. People who could integrate and accommodate people from all shades of divides. These are people that we should give our trust to, not sentiment. Not people who will always take from us and take advantage of our ignorance in society. I believe we have a lot to say about our candidate. Hon. Lai Mohammed is from Kwara. But he was Chief of Staff in Lagos. He has came back to his state and nobody said, go back to Lagos. Aregbesola was a Commissioner, Yayi as a member from Ogun, many more, the Vice President. He has developed society, he has developed people,” Wase said.
He also said that religion should not be an issue in politics.
“When people begin to bring sentiments of religion. I don’t know. I am from Plateau State. I know we have a very good Muslims percentage there, who is going to give us peace should be our own concern. Not who will take us and divide us. And I think you people have a lot of tasks to do, so that we will be able to give out what we have. And the product we have is the most excellent product in Nigeria that cannot be disputed. I wish we organise this sitting more, so that a lot of the members who believe in this cause will have been here. Maybe we would have to take another date just for engagement and interaction cross breed ideas on how to enhance our progress. But, above all, I want to tell you sincerely from the bottom of my heart that I accepted the challenge,” he added.
Speaking earlier, the convener of Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign Organisation, Comrade Dominic Alancha, said that the organisation is a platform that seeks to rally round Nigerians towards the growth and development of the country by addressing key issues across all sectors of the economy.
He said the organisation also seeks to increase youth participation as well as engaging them on issues-based campaign not issues of sentiment or regionalism and religion.
He informed the Deputy Speaker that the national executive of the group after careful appraisals of his commitment to the Asiwaju/Shetima project has appointed him as its Chairman, National Advisory Council of Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign Organisation.
“If you look at the Electoral Act as passed by the Honourable House of Reps, which is the document for this election now, to secure our victory we must concentrate and deploy our arsenal at the various units of all the electoral wards across the federation for us to guarantee our victory.
“So, we will be inaugurating grassroots canvassers at the unit level, that will be done at all the regional levels where we have all our structures p, particularly State coordinators, local government coordinators coordinators, ward coordinators and unit coordinators who would serve as the grassroots canvassers to engage citizens on these noble ideas we are talking about.
Your Excellency, doing that also not for Asiwaju alone but for all the flag bearers of our party. I am happy to notify your excellency, that we have intimated and directed our structures particularly in Plateau State and Wase to be specific to move into action and ensure that your election is delivered by the special grace of God.
Alancha stated that the organisation would recruit twitter handlers to enlighten the public on policies and solutions of the presidential candidate.
“We are also recruiting 10,000 twitter handlers that will dominate the social media space to communicate the Asiwaju policies, the solutions he intends to proffer to the many challenges confronting Nigerians. ‘Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign’ will also act as the bridge between the Asiwaju government and it’s citizens by way of giving feedback to the citizens on the actualisation of of the policy thrusts of the Asiwaju led administration by the special grace of God, come 2023.
“Your Excellency, we the national executive of ‘Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign’ after a deep consideration, we are pleased to inform you and to notify you that, we’ve nominated you as the Chairman, National Advisory Council of the ‘Asiwaju Pact With Citizens Campaign’.
“It is with great honour and privilege to appoint you as the father, leader and the pinnacle of alignment, a personality with hard profile whose name creates values across the divides, with good representative and exemplary leadership to the good people of Plateau State, North Central to be specific and Nigeria at large.
“As a leader, your excellency, who is highly respected in the society, a peace builder whose impact on this generation, existing and led roles in the society have been well enshrined in specific areas of influence, we deemed it fit above all to make you the National Advisory Council Chairman of this organisation, and we believed that, with your personality and our goals and visions would be realised.”
N.O
