Masanawa: I Don’t Have to Be Anointed by Anybody to Govern Katsina

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

A Katsina State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abbas Umar Masanawa, has refuted claims that Governor Aminu Bello Masari has anointed him as his successor in 2023.

The former Managing Director, Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) stated this Tuesday night while fielding questions from journalists at a press conference in Katsina.

Some APC stalwarts in the state have alleged  that President Muhammudu Buhari and Governor Masari have chosen Masanawa among the nine gubernatorial aspirants in the state as their candidate.

But Masanawa, during the media chat, said he does not need to be anointed by either President Buhari or Governor Masari before he joins the governorship race or govern the state.

He said: “I don’t know what you are talking about, I am a bonafide indigene of Katsina State. By age, experience and by whatever, I have the capacity to contest for the governor of the state.

“Therefore, I don’t have to be anointed by anybody before I can decide to contest for the governor of Katsina State.”

He, however, promised to prioritize rural and agricultural development, youth and women empowerment, poverty alleviation and entrepreneurial development, as well as job creation if elected as governor of the state in 2023.

Masanawa said he would use his wealth of experience as a banker and administrator to seek alternative ways of increasing the state’s internally generated revenue and tackle cost and expenditure in order to make the state independent and self-sufficient.

“The era of going to Abuja cap in hand every month to receive federal allocations will be history when I become the governor of the state. We will completely eliminate revenue linkages,” he added. 

He also vowed to tackle the perennial acute water shortage and security challenges bedeviling the state by adopting revolving strategies that would eliminate the scourge.