Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said former vice president and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar remains the best option for Nigeria.
Dogara added that the race for the 2023 presidency is between Atiku and Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi based on empirical evidence.
The former speaker carpeted the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying he dances at campaign rallies because he has nothing to say.
He alleged that Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor has staggering allegations of fraud and moral corruption against himself that weighs down on his integrity and capacity.
Dogara spoke as a keynote speaker in Jos on Sunday during the Arewa Christian Indigenous Pastors Association (ACIPA’s) “Day of Prayers, Awards and Book Dedication.”
The former speaker rated four of the leading presidential candidates and scored them according to what he described as their track records, visibility, good social relations, virtues of unity and brotherhood.
On Atiku he said, “God forbid that we should imagine that he is perfect but we cannot deny that he is by far the most experienced and that what he has done for the Northern Church has no known parallels in Nigeria’s history.”
The former speaker added that, “This was one of his major appeals to some of us who endorsed his candidature. In case we have forgotten, let me remind us of Governors Boni Haruna and Jolly Nyame who governed Adamawa and Taraba states for 8 and 10years respectively with the full backing of Atiku.”
He argued that Atiku was his only backer at that level when he ran and won the speakership race nearly eight years ago stressing that the former vice president said clearly then that since the president is a Muslim and the Senate President was going to be another Muslim, if we must not spit on the legacies of Sardauna and other foundation fathers of our nation, the position of the speakership must go to a Christian.
According to Dogara, Atiku came under serious pressure to change his position but he held firm to his conviction until he won the race adding that among the first two, Atiku remains the best presidential option for the nation judging from experience, performance and social relations established over the years.
“Believe me there are other compelling stories that time will not permit me to share. In addition, Atiku has a strong partner in a Governor who is not just a Christian but a man of abiding faith in Nigeria and our people. I am convinced that together they will provide the needed leadership to unite Nigerians of all creeds and lay a solid path to prosperity for all,” he said.
On Peter Obi he said, “As for the Labour candidate, I don’t have much to say about him because I don’t know him and that’s what scares the daylight out of me. At the level I have operated in Nigerian politics, I am supposed to know a number of things about him but regrettably that is not so.”
On the former Kano State governor Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dogara said NNPP has not carried nationwide campaigns required for the presidency.
“The crucial role we can play as Christians is to examine the character of the candidates running for offices, especially the highest office in the country and disallow those of them that we know are not a reflection of our moral ethos,” he said.
For a smooth take-off of the federal government’s Safe Schools Initiative, the Financing Safe School Secretariat/Technical Working Committee has expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The commandant-general of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, who hosted the Committee on National Schools Security yesterday in Abuja, said he was impressed with the level of team work demonstrated by security agencies involved in the task.
He said, “To protect schools, the corps introduced the School Community Security Vanguard, established the Special Female Squad, Integrated Electronic Arrest Reporting System (I-EARS) amongst others.”
According to Audi, two locations have been proposed to be developed as permanent control rooms for the programme by the NSCDC.
He said, “Two permanent sites are also allocated for the building of national schools’ security and emergency response centres readily available within the premises.
“There is a national centre design for the construction of the safe school and will be made available for viewing if you decide to site the safe school here.”
He reiterated that as the lead agency in the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, NSCDC is ready to deliver on the assignment.
The CG also tasked Private Guard Companies (PGC) on timely grassroots intelligence gathering to ensure adequate protection of schools in the country.
He affirmed that the corps had trained well over 3.5 million guards and advised that since they are close to the grassroots, that relationship could be exploited to attract credible intelligence.
The head of Financing Safe Schools Secretariat and Technical Working Committee, Ministry of Finance, Mrs Halima Iliya, appreciated the corps’ donations and promised to utilise the infrastructure provided.
After inspecting the donated office workspace and control room, Mrs Iliya said that the committee will remodel the office as it lacks funds for construction of the undeveloped donated sites.
She said that a lot of advocacies will be carried out in rural areas and harped on the importance of community response.
She stressed the need for all stakeholders most especially, security agencies to continue to evolve proactive measures that would yield results in response to the nation’s security challenges.
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