Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, a frontline Peoples Democratic Party Presidential aspirant, last night said the Federal Capital Territory deserves a major just like other major cities around the world.

Governor Tambuwal disclosed this during his 2023 Presidential consultative meeting with the FCT delegates of the PDP in Abuja.

The former speaker of the House of Representatives noted that there is a lot of work to be done in the FCT adding that he "believes that the people we met at the FCT deserve more recognition. “

Speaking further, he said, “I am not insisting that FCT should be a state but you appoint ministers, sometimes two from a state, what stops you from appointing a zonal Minister from the FCT because FCT is part of the North Central zone. So if you are appointing an FCT person as Minister to represent the zone, what is wrong with that?

“Because of the Special nature of FCT, there should be a Mayor in the FCT. In major cities in the world, London, California, they have mayors.

“So I understand what the issues are, so what is important is for you to work with us on this campaign train. This is a project to beat in the PDP, the governor stated.

On his part, Hon. Dr Hassan Usman Sokoto, House of Representatives member, Abuja South said the FCT is praying that governor Tambuwal emerges as the PDP’s flag bearer.

“Please, Your Excellency, the leaders must call themselves to order so that if consensus cannot be achieved, once we get to primary, once a level playing ground is given, whosoever emerges but it is our earnest prayer that you emerge but because I don't know tomorrow but every day we are praying that you emerge but whosoever emerge, we hope that others will be able to join him and build this country but by the time we tear ourselves too much, after the primaries, to reconcile is going to be a Herculean task”, he said.

The FCT PDP chairman, Hon. Sunday Dogo Zakka, said the chapter of the party is backing the aspiration of Governor Tambuwal noting that he has been there for the party and it’s time for the party to be there for him.

“You have been there for the party, We will continue to appreciate you because you have been there for us. The party must also be there for you. So we thank you and thank you for your interest. I pray that you will return back safely. People of FCT are solidly behind you. We will not disappoint you.”

Foremost Presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has urged the party to aggregate its acts and move towards coming up with a presidential candidate that Nigerians will buy into and elect during the 2023 election.

And, according to him, he foots the bill of the modest list of what is required to lead the country.

Tambuwal made the appeal and submitted his capabilities Wednesday evening when he had an interactive meeting with a Forum of former Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the PDP at Asokoro, Abuja.

“What is key for PDP is a candidate that we can all work to sale together and win this election, not where the person is coming from,” the Governor of Sokoto told the former leaders of the country.

Explaining that his quest for the topmost job in the country is driven by altruism, patriotism and unity of the nation, he said “it is nothing personal. It is all about our country.”

Burnishing his tripodal credentials that cut across the executive, legislature and judiciary, he emphasized that he has a fair understanding of the country, where, unfortunately, “things are now getting bad.”

To remedy the situation, he reiterated the need for the PDP to have a credible candidate like himself “who have done quite a lot in Sokoto, in view of the resources at the administration’s disposal,” enumerating some of these achievements as prompt payment of salary, pension and the overhauling of healthcare delivery, education and more.

“I have an understanding of the Nigerian system today and can be bridge that is all round,” he reassures, pointing out that Nigerians are now “in a ship without a captain and it is clearly sinking.”

He offered that the antidote to this is for the “collective and collectivity of all in the PDP and Nigerians who understand the gravity of what is going on” to come together and salvage the country. This, he opined “can be done only through “processes and conventions that will throw up a credible candidate.”

He said currently, President Muhammadu Buhari does not understand Nigeria because of his clear case of exclusion in the governance of the country, bad economy and insecurity, the latter of which leaves Governors with no option.

“As Governors, we are limited in what can be done. The security architecture is centralized within the purview of the Federal Government,” whereas citizens nocturnally scamper for safety to neighboring countries.

Addressing the issue of his alleged rift with former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Tambuwal said his differences with both were misconstrued as personal. “There was nothing personal,” he said, noting that he “had reasons to disagree” with Jonathan; and also “disagreed with PMB from 2018 because of the way he ran and is still running the country.”

“We must not fail our country,” he appealed to the former Ministers under the aegis of the PDP.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Ministers’ Forum, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), said the group agreed to have this sensitive interactive session with him “because 2023 is a very serious business.”

Turaki, who said the Forum had turned down similar requests from other aspirants, said “there’s a failure of leadership in the country.

He said the ship of state is rudderless with misgovernance, injustice, hunger and many other problems rife. “Never before has Nigeria been so divided,” he added, proffering that the country wants a leader that is a unifier- not too old and too young, cosmopolitan, with listening ears, have respect for other, has ability to aggregate diverse opinions without compromising democracy.

The ex-minister, who applauded the Governor’s political sagacity and administrative prowess, stemming from his experience as former Speaker, most performing Governor and Life Bencher, assured him that if the discussion convinces them, the Forum will throw its weight behind him.

He said the Forum has resolved that after the series of interaction it has had so far, it will meet the party leadership and support any chosen candidate.

Former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido has debunked media reports suggesting the northern PDP has chosen a consensus candidate to represent the north ahead of the PDP 2023 presidential primaries election.

A statement signed by the church ex-Gov rejected the statement credited to the northern elders saying Saraki and Governor Bala Mohammed have been chosen as northern consensus.

The statement reads:

The attention of key stakeholders of the PDP in the Northern State is drawn to reports in the Media that some Northern Elders have shortlisted two of our prominent and deserving aspirants as consensus PDP Presidential Candidates

Having widely consulted Party Leaders across the 19 Northern States and FCT, it is hereby stated to our teeming Party members and the general public that what is reported in the Media is only the personal opinion of those who issued the statement and not the position of the PDP members in the North! Discussions are ongoing with ALL the aspirants in our party with a view to having a National Consensus if possible or at least working towards having smooth acrimony free National Convention.

The position of the Northern Elders is not only injurious to the North but equally injurious to the Northern Aspirants!

The commitment of the federal and Akwa Ibom State governments towards reforming the Nigeria Police Force, through re-equipping and re-engineering its internal security architecture for efficient operations remains unweavering, President Muhammadu Buhari and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel have declared.

The duo stated this in their separate address on Tuesday, at the open of a- 2 day Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, at Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo.

The President who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi lauded the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba for the initiative to organize the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, and pledged to partner them improve the services of the Nigeria Police.

"...I salute the pragmatic support from the host Governor Udom Emmanuel and the good people of the State for their commitment in hosting us at this event. ..this administration has prioritize the reform, re-equipment and the re-engineering of the Nigeria Police being the lead and most critical agency in the internal security architecture of our dear country. I want to assure you that we will continue to partner with you towards improving the services of the Police in this country", he stated.

On his part, Governor Udom Emmanuel, thanked the Inspector General of Police for the choice of Akwa Ibom to host the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, stating that event with the theme 'The New Police Vision- A Roadmap for Stabilizing Internal Security was timely considering the security challenges in country.

Governor Emmanuel appreciated the Police and other security agencies for their cooperation in maintaining relative peace in the State over the years, and advocated for redeployment of intelligence apparati to enhance the efficiency of the Police.

"Let me also use this opportunity to thank the Inspector- General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba for selecting our State as the venue for this retreat. I have always advocated for a robust redeployment of intelligence apparati, both human and electronic, because we should also look at the root causes of why people embrace criminal activities especially among our youths: Issue of unemployment and hopelessness must be tackled and addressed holistically", the governor noted.

He tasked the Police Force to make the retreat count, by adopting new strategies and ideas that will chart a new course towards the security architecture of Nigeria.

Also speaking his counterpart the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governor's Forum (NGF) Dr. Kayode Fayemi, stated that Governors in the 35 States of the Federation remain resolute in their primary responsibility of providing security and welfare to citizens and assured of continuous partnership with the Nigeria Police Force.

Dr. Fayemi re-echoed the commitment of the Governors in augmenting the support from the Federal Government to the Police Force and commended the IGP, Usman Baba, for his initiative to rejig the force and his expeditious attention to security matters.

"We will continue to support the Minister of Police Affairs in the task of delivering security and safety to Nigerian citizens by augmenting what he is doing and what our principal the President is doing at the federal level in our various states as much as we can, as much as the resources in our states permit us to do. But I must say that since the present IGP took over the reins of office, we are particularly delighted at the way he has taken the partnership with states, he added".


In a goodwill message, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Haliru Jika, commended the IGP for his capacity to implement the resolution of the National Assembly to restructure the security architecture of the Force for the overall benefit of the people. Senator Jika who read the message of the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan pointed out that the essence of retreat represents element of change required to reposition the primary mandate of the Nigeria Police Force.

In another goodwill message, the Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Bello Kumo, reiterated the readiness of the Committee on Police Affairs to partner the Nigeria Police Force to ensure synergy in tackling security challenges in the Country.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, welcomed stakeholders and participants to the retreat, stating that in line with the theme of the event, the agency seeks to utilize the forum in reviewing the vision, mission and strategies to assess the Police Reform Initiative in the previous leadership.

The IGP further noted that the retreat among other critical areas of security will undertake a holistic assessment of the current internal security threats of crime dynamics in the country, assuring that factor endangering crime will be identified as the strategies will be re-evaluated.