By Francis Nansak, Lafia
Against the position of some northern elites calling on Nigerians to vote against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 presidential election, Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu and Hon. Daniel Ogah Ogazi have distanced themselves, urging Nigerians, particularly northern electorates, to vote massively for the President.
Their admonition was made recently at a gathering where the Senator representing Nasarawa West and frontline governorship candidate, Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, hosted three groups, his Class of ’79, Keffi elders, and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) at the prestigious Keffi Polo Ranch.
Senator Wadada gave an account of the administration in the last three years, stating that in terms of infrastructure, education and healthcare delivery, the APC government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has performed better and improved significantly compared to previous administrations.
He said the administration has impacted northern Nigeria by improving accessibility for trade and investment through road construction and security.
“These are deliberate efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he boldly removed the fuel subsidy. Let us tell ourselves the truth. When you say the Tinubu administration inflicted hardship on us as northerners, don’t also forget that some roads which were mapped out for construction during the administration of former President Shehu Shagari were neglected until now.
“Today we have the longest and most accessible road linking Katsina to Lagos. We are also witnessing another giant stride in road construction,the Sokoto-Badagry and Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highways, where about 60 dams were discovered to serve irrigation farming,” he noted.
Senator Wadada therefore called on his primary school classmates, Keffi elders and the delegation of the NURTW to resist the temptation by some persons who, for no reason, are attempting to de-market the APC and President Tinubu for primordial sentiments.
“Let me urge you all to give the APC and Tinubu a second chance to complete his reforms for the betterment of Nigerian citizens,” Senator Wadada submitted.
Also speaking, Hon. Daniel Ogah Ogazi said the removal of fuel subsidy was the best thing that has happened to Nigerians, pointing out that without it, Nigeria and its citizens would have been in a serious mess.
According to him, it was as a result of the subsidy removal that Nasarawa State is now witnessing massive infrastructural development.
“I will not want to speak much on the achievements of the APC administration to avoid being seen as blowing my own trumpet because of seeking political position. But let us not forget that during subsidy payments, Nasarawa was receiving not up to N5 billion, and under that administration, workers in Nasarawa were paid in percentages during the administration of our immediate past governor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
“But today, workers and pensioners in Nasarawa under the current administration of Engineer Abdullahi Sule are receiving 100 percent salary, and federal allocation has risen to about N24 billion, which is being properly utilized for development and human capacity building,” he added.
