Tambuwal Takes Consultation to Zamfara, Says PDP Will Reclaim State, Presidency

*Says plot to remove Zamfara deputy governor sub judice

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has reiterated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will regain its pride of place in Nigeria and Zamfara state in the forthcoming political dispensation.

Gov. Tambuwal stated this on Monday in Gusau, Zamfara state capital, where he had gone to consult the party’s stakeholders on his presidential bid.

The Gusau visit is the second leg of Gov. Tambuwal’s consultation on 2023 presidential race. He was in Jigawa state last Tuesday.

According to him, the process for the return of the PDP to the topmost leadership positions in Nigeria and Zamfara state has started.

He said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had brought insecurity, economic downturn, debilitating healthcare system and the “collapse of virtually everything” to Zamfara and Nigeria, adding, “therefore, the leadership of the APC in the country must be challenged in order to make things work right.”

Tambuwal said “if we succeed in our bid the country will witness a reversal of the current bad fortunes.”

He also sympathied with the people of Zamfara state on the spate of insecurity and urged them to collectively convoke a security summit to brainstorm on the problem with a view to providing good leadership.

On the recent moves by the Zamfara state House of Assembly to impeach the Deputy Governor of the state, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, Tambuwal said this is sub judice.

“The matter is in the court and any law abiding person must allow the law to take its due course,” he cautioned protagonists of the move.

In his remarks at the occasion, former Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, said the purpose of their visit was to present Gov. Tambuwal to the state PDP rank and file for consultation with them on the pursuit of his ambition to run for President next year.

“He is not a stranger to you. He’s our brother. Sokoto and Zamfara states are the same entity.He (Tambuwal) sought the same position in 2019. Then seven of us from the North contested and he emerged second.

“Young and energetic then and now, I believe he still has the capacity to do it very well more than us. He is ready. I have no doubt that he will represent us very well if he gets the chance,” Bafarawa said.

Bafarawa also added that the governor and his entourage comprising former Deputy Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, and the former minister of power, Engr Bello Suleiman, were in the state not for campaign, “but for the progress and development of this state owing to the obvious monumental loss of lives and property being witnessed on daily basis here.”

The ex-governor who said he won’t apportion blame for the insecurity in the state, however pointed out that “whoever does right knows it. And whoever does wrong knows it,” quoting late Zamfara-born Hausa singer, Alhaji Musa Dankwairo.

“We need fervent prayers for God’s intervention on what is happening in the state. In the same vein, we should pray to God to give the leaders the courage to lead well,” he said.

Receiving Tambuwal’s delegation, the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau, expressed appreciation to the team for the visit.

While highlighting the sterling credentials of Gov Tambuwal, he pledged to support him in his bid if he so decides. “There’s no turning in our determination to back him all the way,” he assured.

Gusau, leading the state party chairman,
Col. Bala Mande (rtd), who is a former military administrator of Nasarawa state; its secretary, Alhaji Umaru Farouk (Shettiman Rijiya); and other stakeholders of the state chapter of the PDP had on arrival of Gov. Tambuwal and his entourage treated them to a rousing welcome by a large crowd.