Former Kano State Governor and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has assured that he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming PDP presidential primaries.
The exercise is billed for October 5 and 6, 2018.
Kwankwaso spoke with newsmen in Abuja at the weekend after he obtained the party’s Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to contest the party’s presidential primaries.
The serving senator who emerged first runner-up to Muhammadu Buhari in the 2014 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, had returned to PDP two months ago.
While assuring that the primary will be free, fair and credible, he said whoever emerges as the party’s standard bearer would be supported by all other contenders.
His words: “Most of those people who purchased forms or who are going to purchase forms are either my colleagues as governors, ministers, senators and so on. We know ourselves very well and for me, I can assure you that we will do everything possible to have a rancour-free primary election and after the primary election, we will come together again and ensure that the party wins.
“Don’t forget, in 2014, I contested the same seat in Lagos and I came second. I am sure you didn’t hear me say anything against what happened at that time. And we came as a family and I am sure you remember that we had 480 counsellors without any rancour, 44 local government chairmen, 40 state assembly members all for that party (APC) and 24 House of Representatives members, three senators, a governor and almost two million votes for the man who is on the seat now (Buhari).
“So that is how we operate. I don’t think there is anything that will happen different from what we have seen and done in previous years”.
Despite the preponderance of contestants, Kwankwaso, was upbeat of clinching the party’s presidential ticket, saying he is the most qualified of all the aspirants.
Besides him, there are 11 other aspirants jostling for the party’s presidential ticket. They include: Senate President Bukola Saraki; former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso; ex-chairman PDP National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi sad well as former governors Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto).
Others are: Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal; his Gombe State counterpart Ibrahim Dankwanbo; former lawmaker Datti Baba-Ahmed and ex-Minister Kabiru Turaki.
This is the first time in the history of the 20-year old political party that it is parading this large number of presidential aspirants.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
