Senator: Niger Governor Does Not Deserve Second Term

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Almost three weeks after the Niger State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) endorsed Governor Abubakar Sani Bello for a second term in office, a senator from the state has said the governor does not deserve such endorsement.

Senator David Umaru who is representing Niger East constituency in the upper chamber of the National Assembly said the governor had not performed to the expectation of the electorate that voted him into office in 2015 to deserve such endorsement.

Umaru who had been at daggers drawn with the governor since 2016 over some of his (governor) policies which he described as “anti people” said in an interview with some newsmen in Minna on yesterday that the poor performance of the governor did not “justify his rush for second term.”

“The APC administration in Niger State has performed terribly bad to the extent that we should not be talking about second term. There is virtually nothing on ground to justify second term for the administration.

“Today I feel ashamed for working to enthrone this administration because of its highest level of un-seriousness.”
The federal lawmaker emphasised the need for the APC to “make amends and give the people the deserved developments instead of occupying itself with endorsement galore which does not have the support of the electorate.”

Umaru chastised the party in the state for “embarking on unrealistic endorsement of some elected persons including the governor,” adding that “the party can give ticket but the people will do the voting in 2019.”
“I do not need the endorsement of the governor, He needs my endorsement. I need the endorsement of the people not that of the governor.”

He also decried what he described as “the use of ethnicity and religion to cause confusion in the state political landscape” in the face of serious underdevelopment saying “we should all come back as a united force and rescue the state in 2019.”

The federal lawmaker said he was “waiting on God to decide whether to contest for any position including the senate in 2019,” pointing out that: “Contesting in 2019 should not be my priority now.

“As you know, I do not have any poster out. I believe it is not how long I stay in office but what I have been able to do for the people.”

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