Hayatudeen, Ohuambuwa joins PDP presidential race

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

…As group picks form for Akwa Ibom Gov

Dr. Mohammed Hayatudeen and Mazi Sam Ohuambuwa has joined the presidential race of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as both personally picked their expression of interest and nomination forms at the party’s national secretariat on Wednesday.

Hayatudeen told journalists that as an economist and a banker, he has gotten experience in dealing with issues and have an understanding of what to do to settle the Nigerian issue.

Hayatudeen said “I was chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group. With my resume I welcome the challenge to square it up with any other aspirant.

“Am not your classic politician, am a technocrat, all my life I have gotten things done. I have worked in major institutions as chief executive officers and I understand quite a few issues. I understand why certain nations succeed and why some fail, I understand what it takes for nation state to be great, successful. I understand change management and I have been a turn around manager.

“Human organizations are all the same, you just need to adopt. Nigeria today is in very serious trouble. I know what it takes to put people to deliver on the mandate of the Nigerian people, people with integrity.

“My motivations are very clear, I did not go into the race lightly, I have taught about it very carefully, am different because I have a very unique resume”
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Dr. Hayatudeen does not support the idea of zoning PDP presidential ticket, rather he said competence should be the yardstick in the emergence of the party’s flag bearer.

“This country has 210 million people, the constitution of Nigeria is very clear and all its relevant provisions, as to who is eligible to vote and be voted for. The electoral law of the land is clear as amended recently that anybody among these 210 million people is free to vote for who they want and to contest for any office. We are governed by the constitution.

“Am not aware of any referendum for the Nigerian people to vote on zoning, zoning is a matter of convenience for certain leaders and for parties to discuss and agree among themselves, it is not an imposition that everyone is bound to abide by,” he said.

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa said his administration will turn the country into an investment haven while he gave a blueprint of how to tackle the hydra- headed security challenges troubling the nation.

He told journalists after obtaining his presidential forms that he will create jobs while jobs will consequently create wealth.

Ohuambuwa said “our forecast is to turn Nigeria into an investment heaven where there will be foreign investment and local investment will be promoted by a combination of a strong foreign investment inflow and local investment motivation. We will create businesses, we will create programs, we will create projects because investments create businesses, it creates programs or project and businesses will create jobs.

“Jobs will create wealth and wealth. Wealth and poverty is almost linear in straight lines, the more investment you put in any given jurisdiction, the more business you create, the more business you create, and programs and projects, the more jobs you create. Nobody creates jobs by fiction. It must be directed to productive activity, and one productive activity leverages on the other and that’s what challenge you to get employment.

“The other thing I want you to do is that people leaving school, they are already on the journey to the job market. We will ensure that 50 percents of those who leave school go straight to business and 50 percent will go to for work because in your final year in the University you spent the year designing your business plan.

” It doesn’t matter what you’re reading, you must tell us how you’re going to solve the society’s problem with your profession or your training. S, through those two mechanisms, the youth can get job on leaving School, and they’re going to be supported by government to set their businesses”..

To tackle security challenges, Ohambuwa said the solution is application of high level technology in security surveillance.

He said “the first thing I’m going to do is to call the people together and ask how did we get here guys. We will sit at a table like this and decide what we need to do to solve our problems, that’s the primary thing and that is the major thing. The solution is to apply high level of technology to security surveillance.

“With technology, you can see anybody where he’s located. With technology, you can hear, you can see with technology, we don’t even need to send physical force, we can send technologically driven forces and modern drones to get them where they are. If you have intelligence, you can hear and see. We’ll know what these people are planning before they get out with their plans, we will arrest them.

“I think that we need to rejig our security architecture and we need to be sure that we motivate those who fight for us.”

Meanwhile, a group collected forms for the Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel on Wednesday.

Members of Brekete Family on a Abuja based radio station, Human Rights Broadcasting Station said the global group which has members in diaspora really want a change for the country through Gov. Udom.

Spokesperson of the group, Innocent Orji the Brekete Family in search of qualified persons irrespective of political party affiliation resolved to spur people to run by buying nomination forms for them.

He said “the Ordinary President. Dr. Ahmed Isa and the founder of Brekete family, radio and television came and said it to the world that change my start come 2023.

“The reason behind all this is because what we witness since the independence is not something to write home about. Hence, the change will start with us this time around. He said that we, the Brekete Family globally will purchase forms for 10 nominees, that’s presidential forms.

” Each person that want to participate must have outstanding antecedents and we must purchase the form; that is the only way we can get the best way to say enough of all this and you must give account of your stewardship. We are starting from this particular person today. That’s why we purchased one today for the person of Dr. Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom state. This is just the starting point.

“When he came to Human Right Radio and Television for the program Brekete, he came on his own and he presented all he has done within the time in the State, you people can testify to that, we don’t believe until we’ll see. So we decided to do proper investigation on our own. We traveled to Akwa Ibom and saw everything that he said, and we even discovered that there are many he didn’t mention.

“As a result of that, we are of the opinion that if he can do that, in his own state, we have the opinion that he will do even better in Nigeria as a whole. Based on this, we said we are nominating him that we will purchase this form for his presidential nominee come 2023.

“That is the only way we can make this country a better place. So the idea of holding somebody accountability will take place because if we are joined together and put him there, no one person in any form or shape will claim ownership that he installed him, that he is one that paid for him.