“You have my blessings and I will look forward to hearing from you on some of these articulations I heard from you today…”
John Adams, Minna
Former military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has thrown his weight behind Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, a presidential aspirant and immediate past Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
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He gave his blessing at his Hilltop residence in Minna, Saturday when Senator Makarfi paid him a courtesy call. In his earlier address, Makarfi highlighted some of the challenges facing the country and the way to solve them. He further stressed the need for wealth redistribution as well as aggressive job creation.
Ex-head of state, in his response, said: “Without fear or favour, you have made my day. I was almost losing hope in the country. But having heard from the distinguished senator, I have become more enlightened and emboldened to say we have hope in Nigeria.
“We need a new narrative in this country. We can’t go on like we used to. We need an articulated vision of a new Nigeria. I am not surprised that you give such narrative of the country. You did well in the legislature and you handled well one the most civilised and sophisticated states in Nigeria.
“You have my blessings and I will look forward to hearing from you on some of these articulations I heard from you today. Honestly I feel so proud,” he declared.
While lending credence to the need for a restructuring of the country, Makarfi said Nigeria needs a leader who is trusted across tribal and religious lines to drive the process so that it would be a win-win situation for all parts of the country.
Meanwhile, he has assured his teeming supporters that he would remain in PDP regardless of the outcome of the presidential primary of the party, adding that he would rather quit politics than joining the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). He maintained that PDP is the only party that has the interest of Nigerians at heart.
The former Kaduna State governor, who spoke at the PDP secretariat in Minna, the Niger state capital, as part of his nationwide campaign for the party’s presidential primary, said he had no reason whatsoever to quit the party he struggled to keep together during it troubled moment.
“I believe that after the primaries, we will all come together as one united family and see how we can work for the success of the party without rancor in the overall interest of the party and the country, and not to put our personal interest first,” he said.
Markafi should drop his ambition of contesting for presidency because the south east will NEVER vote for him. It is still fresh in our memory that while the south east youths were being killed during the 2017 Biafra agitation Markafi said during an interview by channels tv that Nnamdi Kanu ‘s action was worst than that of the northern youths.
PDP should look for a good candidate that can be marketed in South East not Markafi.