From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State 2023 governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Jonathan Asake has said that his political opponents have embarked on character assassination to scuttle his political ambition.
The opponents, according to Asake, were not happy because he resigned his position as the President of Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) where he was entrusted with N120 million donated by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
He said long before he decamped from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to Labour Party (LP), governor Wike had donated N200 million to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the State through the the PDP.
He said SOKAPU got a share of N120 million from the entire donation, adding that the Union under his leadership expended huge part of the money on procuring basic needs for the IDPs.
Asake spoke on Friday during a media parley with Reporters at the Secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council.
He said handed over N60 million to his successor, asking anybody who cared to know to go and verify.
“My time as SOKAPU president was a hard time. The Union did not have resources. I made sure I talked about and brought up issues of insecurity in Southern Kaduna for both national and international attentions.
“Governor Wike of Rivers State donated N200 million for IDPs in Kaduna State when he came to Kaduna during campaigns for the primary election.
“Governor Wike made the donation through the State PDP. We were allocated N120 million. We made huge procurement from the share given to SOKAPU for the IDPs.
“I have visited all these IDPs in Southern Kaduna.I can name them one by one. I was like a Hero in Southern Kaduna as SOKAPU president. I left over N60 million in the coffer of SOKAPU. But the moment I resigned to run for the governorship election my enemies chose to drag my name in the mud. Documents are there for everybody verify. Nobody can frustrate me or pull me down. I have made up my mind to run the governorship race, no going back”. Asake said.
Speaking on his political ambition, the governorship hopeful said he will ensure exclusive economic and infrastructural development which is one of his agendas if voted into power.
He noted that if resource are fairly applied there will be justice, promising to carry everybody along in governance to meet development
This was even as he lamented that, “the debts profile of Kaduna is too high and next generation will continue to pay for it.
“Every local government area in the State is endowed with human and natural resources. We must utilise them. We are going to look at alternative ways to manage our revenue.
“The real people that are driving the LP are the youths and women. We have recognised this. They want to take back their state and country. It is not about tribe and religion.
“The greatest casualties in a maladministration are the youths. No employment for them. In my leadership as SOKAPU president I noticed that women don’t have the future. So we must empower the women. Youths have been thrown into idleness because of high tuition fees in government tertiary institutions in the State. We will ensure basic free education when elected”. He said.