Makarfi Declares Presidential Bid, Battles Atiku For PDP Ticket

A former Governor of Kaduna State and immediate past Caretaker
Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ahmed
Makarfi, has joined the race to contest the nation’s presidency in 2019.
The two-term-senator said at a press briefing in Kaduna on Sunday that
after wide consultations with party men and women as well as other
major stakeholders, he had decided to seek the party’s nomination to
contest the poll.
According to Makarfi, he is now ready to pick the PDP nomination form
ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
He explained that after the consultations, the result was quite positive
and encouraging and that it was fair enough for him to come out and
join other “capable party men and women” to seek the party’s
nomination for the 2019 presidential election.
Makarfi will battle a former Vice President and presidential hopeful of
the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who had recently
appointed a former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the
Director-General of his 2019 presidential campaign.
Though he had yet to intimate his party through writing, he added that
“one has to come to the decision to seek the nomination before you
even seek formally.”
He said, “I have not written to the party but who do you consult with?
It is the same party men and women that you consult informally.
“At this stage, it is to seek the party’s nomination. The successful
nominee will become the candidate that will stand for the election.
“But first thing first. If one’s party does not put one forward, one can’t
say he is contesting the presidency yet. At this stage, I have come to
the conclusion that it is okay, based on the consultations that I have
had.”
“I have been consulting across the country since I left as the chairman of
the party. It’s just consultations and not an endorsement. But it gives
you an opportunity to feel the pulse and it will tell whether to go
forward or not to go forward.
“The consultations have been quite positive and I believe it is fair enough
to come to the conclusion that one should join other equally capable
party men and women who have shown interest in seeking the party’s
nomination for the 2019 presidential election.”
Makarfi also noted that he had all it took to lead Nigerians to the
promise land and thanked the All Progressives Congress for campaigning
for the PDP through “bad governance.”
“We must also thank the APC for working for us because they have been
working for us. They have refused to govern well, they have been fighting
each other,” he said.
He added that anybody that could manage Kaduna State, which he
described as ‘mini Nigeria’, could as well govern the country.
He said, “For me, I have known governance for some time at the state
level. I served Kaduna for three years as commissioner for finance and
economic planning. I came in from the private sector.
“I have private sector experience, especially banking. I governed this
complex state for eight years. I have legislative experience, having been
in the Senate for a two-term of eight years.
“I got a bonanza, when the party leadership fell on my laps, to know
about managing a political party. If you cannot manage your party, even
if you are elected, you will have problems governing.”
“If you cannot manage a complex society such as Kaduna State, which is
a mini Nigeria, you cannot manage Nigeria,” the former governor added.
When asked if he would quit the party should he fail to realise his
ambition on the platform of the PDP, the former governor said he would
support whoever emerged as the candidate of the party among Atiku, a
former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke; a former Jigawa
Governor, Sule Lamido; and a host of others.
In an apparent reference to the nPDP members in APC, the former
governor called on them to come back home, noting that it was obvious
that most of them were no longer needed in the ruling party.
“The question before them is where will they go to? The overwhelming
majority of them no longer have room in that party. If you stay, what
are they staying for?,” Makarfi queried.