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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The former Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Sadique Abubakar, has expressed optimism of winning the Bauchi State governorship election slated March 25.
Sadique, who is the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated this yesterday in Abuja at a dinner, fundraising and launch of his manifesto.
This is even as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Investment, Sadiya Umar Farouq; former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, former Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete Ibas, amongst others endorsed his candidacy.
If elected, the envoy promised to squash banditry, restructure the agricultural sector, send over 1. 4 million children back to school and reengineer the health sector.
“What we want to do is to re-engineer the political landscape in Bauchi State so that people will have sense of ownership of the state.
“People must understand that the state is all about them. And the only way you to achieve that is to reverse the disturbing figures.
“We want to get those 1.4 million children back to school. We want to do everything we can to show concern and support our women.
“Unemployment rate especially among the youths is very disturbing. We want to create a platform where these youths would be empowered, have skills required and be able to contribute to the development of Bauchi State. In the agricultural sector, the production is so abysmal.
“What we want to do is to reengineer the entire process so that production will go up and once it goes up you know the impact if agriculture on the economy. Small scale industries at the local level will increase.
“These are programmes that are going to boost the economy of Bauchi State and that way, we can help with the security of the state because there is a relationship between security and development.
“Security has so many dimensions. One of which is what most people refer to the physical security.
“But you have the social and economic dimensions of security which has to do with all these issues that I raised.
“The issue of people to go school. Opportunity for people to have access to good health and for people to go into production opportunity to make extra money.
“So, as soon as you tackle some of these issues you will see that it impact positively on security.
“The physical security aspect is something that we are going to work together both the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the police civil defence. And once we do that the narrative of Bauchi will change,” he said.
Recalling his tenure as Rivers State governor, Amaechi said the Ambassador of Nigeria to Chad, never asked him for financial assistance when he worked in his state unlike previous heads of agencies.
“I have never seen a Nigerian like you in my life. I was not under any pressure from you to give you money until you left.
“Because the reason Nigerians go to Rivers State is to collect money. They lobby to be posted there because they want to get money. And if you remember, it was height of fighting criminals. I was shocked the way you people took the fight,” he said.
