The national chairman and presidential candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD) has said that his party will win the upcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Anambra states.
He made this statement while speaking on grassroots politics on the emergence of Mrs Amina Zakari as INEC boss and his party’s preparations for the gubernatorial polls coming up in Bayelsa, Kogi and Anambra states in an interview published by Daily Trust Newspaper.
“We are fielding candidates for the elections and we are prepared. This party was one of the first three registered political parties and it is still strong. It has its members nationwide, so in Kogi, Bayelsa and Anambra, we are sure of winning. This means the AD will be the party to form the next government in these states and the people of these states will see the difference,” Mr. Salau said.
He also reassured Nigerians that his party is ready to participate in any elections conducted by the acting chairman of the INEC since she was part of the commissioners that conducted the last general elections that was internationally adjudged to be free and fair.
Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party recently rejected Mrs Zakari and vowed not to accept the results of elections conducted under her watch. But, Mr Salau thinks otherwise as he pledged his party’s willingness to work with the acting INEC chairman.
“If PDP is not interested, we are interested. So, any party can decide not to participate in an election but we are ready to participate in any elections conducted by the acting chairman even if she is now appointed as chairman.
“We are ready to go along with her. She has shown beyond reasonable doubt that she is competent enough to manage INEC and to make sure that she give the nation the best,”he said.
Mr Salau, who stepped down for Buhari in the last general elections assessed President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration since inception trusting him to fight corruption and leave a good legacy.
“Well, we thank God for bringing Buhari to be the President of Nigeria. He has the image of honesty. A man that is honest is a man that will fight corruption; so he is ready to fight corruption in this country.
“If there is no corruption, this nation will develop; Nigeria will be a great nation without corruption. He has said that even his party members who are involved in corruption will not be spared. He is here and we believe he will leave a good legacy, just like Obasanjo did,” Salau said.
He also expressed confidence that President Buhari’s government will implement the national conference report convened during former president Jonathan’s administration.
“I believe that some of the people in the present government must have been members of the confab. So, if they think it is good, they would suggest its implementation for the good of the nation.
“Again, some of the National Assembly members who were members of the confab would also take some of these decisions to the House and present them as bill. If the National Assembly sees that definitely these decisions are good for the nation, they would consider them as laws,” the national chairman said.
Mr. Salau also reiterated the need for states to be allowed to create the number of local government areas they want as it was done during the military rule.
“When you are talking of federalism, the units are the states and the federal government, so the states should be allowed to determine the number of local government areas. It was done during the military rule but now we are in a democratic system.
“It is even possible for a state to decide to have 10 while another state will decide to have 20. This should be decided by the people because they are the ones electing House of Assembly members. The people should be allowed to say what they want because this is democracy.
“If a political party in power refuses to pay particular attention to the people, the people have the right to elect another political party. So, the system should allow the states to determine the number of their local governments that will ensure the development of the state,” he added.
Attention will be shifted to the governorship polls in Bayelsa, Kogi and Anambra in a few months time as INEC is expected to perform better than the last general elections which was applauded by national and international community.
Different political parties have stated dominating news for the good and bad reasons. This is not new to Nigeria’s political sphere as politicians are always desperate to be in power.
A quick pointer is the crisis rocking the APC in Kogi state where a prominent member, Mrs Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim has fled the state to Ibadan, Oyo state capital over a renewed threat to her life ahead of the upcoming party’s primary. Hadiza, a notable APC leader and loyalist of President Muhammadu Buhari described the latest attempt on her life through anonymous calls, text messages and public assaults as an unfortunate development within the party.
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