By Henry Omunu, Abuja
House
of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, says that the February 16
Presidential election offers a rare opportunity for the north east to
produce a president in person of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar under the
platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking
in Bauchi on Tuesday at the Presidential campaign rally of the PDP,
Dogara noted that some people think that the north east can never be
able to produce someone that will have the golden opportunity of
becoming the president of Nigeria.
“They
thought no one from the north east would come out to take the
challenge; many unpatriotic people wished that a day like this will
never come where one of us; a father, a leader from North East, will
contest for the position of the President
He added that whereas Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world, the north east is the poverty capital of Nigeria.
According
to him, this situation will change when a leader form the North East
and someone who is accepted nationally is brought to power.
He
therefore, challenged the people of the north east to come out en masse
to vote for the PDP presidential candidate, adding that it’s the only
way to show total support for a better tomorrow.
The
speaker cautioned that any voter from the region who votes otherwise
has shown that he is opposed to the development of North East.
“I
want to make it clear to you, we are not campaigning for Atiku just
because he is from our zone. No, we are campaigning and supporting him
because of our belief that he will work for a better Nigeria.
“He
is the only one that will bring an end to hunger, poverty, insurgency,
especially Boko Haram, and also one who will make education a top
priority. He will provide jobs to our youths,” he maintained.
The
speaker argued that Atiku will work to unite the country and return it
on the path of development, while taking a swipe at the Bauchi State
Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, who he described as a Pharoah.
“It
is only in Bauchi that a Pharaoh-like regime is being practiced. If you
are a photocopy of Pharaoh, know what happened to the original
Pharaoh.
“We are bringing
someone (Sen. Bala Mohammed), who will bring back the lost glory of our
dear state. It’s unfortunate that over 1.3 million children in Bauchi
State are out of school today, which means if care is not taken, we may
face another bigger security challenge of our lives in the near future.
“Let us wake up and chase away hunger, poverty, insecurity and a Pharaoh-like government,” he charged.
