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Sunday, May 12, 2013

I haven’t decided on my 2015 ambition — Aliyu


Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State on Saturday dissociated himself from posters depicting him to be seeking the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket for the 2015 election. He said he was not ready to declare his presidential ambition yet.

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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Aliyu was reacting to news of seizure of the posters by security agents in Kaduna State at a one-day North Central Zonal Security Awareness Workshop in Minna.
The governor said he had not ordered anyone to produce any poster for him, adding that he had no intentions of doing so yet.
He said as a loyal member of the party, he would abide by the party’s guideline of June 2014 deadline before making any pronouncement of his political ambition.
Aliyu appealed to his supporters and other well wishers to remove such posters, wherever they were found. He said pasting of such posters was over heating the nation’s polity.
He said he had earlier ordered the removal of posters of Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, which flooded the state about a week earlier, in order to keep with the party’s directive.
Aliyu said, “I appeal to all Nigerians and Politicians in general, let us reduce the tension and the heat in the polity, let us give President Goodluck Jonathan the chance to succeed; and let me task you that, if you see anybody placing any posters depicting me as running for the Presidency between now and June 2014, please remove it.
“I am saying this because, I understand that some people who are trying to heat up the polity will pick some of us (governors) and put our posters as if we are the ones doing it. I ordered the removal the posters of Lamido and Amaechi in Niger from here (Minna) to Suleja because it is not time yet. In the time table of INEC and many other political parties, my party the PDP said ‘no politicking in that dimension now.’
“I am not the hypocritical type that will be hiding under posters. When the time comes and God says I am going to run, I will not shy away, but I have not decided.
“We must reduce the tension and heat in the polity, if we do that even the police will be able to do their job better.”
He also called for the establishment of border police to help in strengthening national security along the borders. He noted that the nation’s security workforce was grossly inadequate to police the nation.
Aliyu stressed that the use of the military to perform internal security duties was against their traditional role.
He called for suitable accommodation, social welfare and equipment for the police, in a bid to boost their morale to perform their task effectively.
In his response, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, said the police were doing their best to address the security challenges of the country.
He called for enhanced and better police-community relationship to assist the police to achieve more.

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