Ahmed Makarfi
Senator Ahmed Makarfi, presidential aspirant under the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday said he had a horrible experience
plying the roads in the South-East region.
Makarfi spoke in Owerri, during his visit at the Imo State PDP
secretariat. While narrating his experience, he said travelling to
Owerri by road had justified his decision that 90 percent of his
campaign would be on road projects.
Makarfi said:
“As I was coming from Enugu to Owerri, the roads
are bad. It is shocking. That is why I said 90 per cent of my campaign
will be on road projects.
“Some people asked me to come by air and I said no, why should I
do that ? I want to feel the experience of our people and know their
pains in view of solving them.”
According to Makarfi, “We must know what the electorate want.
PDP is very democratic and it is a party that believes in dialogue. We
could not have succeeded in the PDP national convention if many of you
did not subscribe to dialogue.
“In 2007, I could have become the president if not for what
happened. Then, I did not run away; I contributed my quota. As PDP
members, we must believe in the party even when we lose. We must believe
that God gives power. If you see me leaving PDP, then I am leaving
politics.
“The policy of PDP is restructuring of Nigeria. PDP will bring
Nigeria together on how to restructure Nigeria fairly. If you are a
member of PDP and you don’t believe in restructuring, you should leave
the party.”
While on restructuring, he said: “We should also look at
institutional restructuring. If we have institutional restructuring,
what happened in the National Assembly wouldn’t have happened. I support
state police but we must do it in such a way that it does not serve
only political leaders.”
Speaking also, a former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa,
said: “I don’t know if anybody knows Makarfi more than me because we
were colleagues as governors for 8 years. “During his time as governor
of Kadunna state, there was nothing like Christians and Muslims. He
abolished it through his policies and Christains and Musilims were the
same and lived peacefully.”
How I’ll restructure Nigeria
Makarfi While on a visit to Ebonyi State to consult with party
members on his presidential ambition, Senator Ahmed Makarfi asked
Nigerians not to judge all those justling to rule the country in 2019 by
their looks alone as such could be deceitful.
Reacting to the allegations that he was too gentle to lead Nigeria, Makarfi said,” People said I was too gentle to defeat Modu Sheriff during the struggle to reposition PDP but what happened?
“Don’t be mistaken by looks. It is the action. In Kaduna State,
people saw my actions. People said I was too gentle to handle the
Kaduna Mafia but what happened? Those who will mistake me to be weak
will be shocked but Nigerians will be happy.
Makarfi said that having chaired the technical committee that set
the agenda for the National Conference under President Obasanjo,
restructuring Nigeria now would “be incorporating whatever Nigerians
resolved and bringing in people that will dust my committee’s report,
removing what is obsolete and bringing in what is new.”