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‘Niger Will Vote For Continuity’

By JOHN OGIJI
06 February 2015   |   11:00 pm
Danladi Ndayebo is Niger State Commissioner for Information, Communication and Integration, spoke to JOHN OGIJI in Minna on the achievements of Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and preparations for the coming elections in the state.  OBSERVERS say there is mass movement against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.…

Ndayebo-7-2-15

Danladi Ndayebo is Niger State Commissioner for Information, Communication and Integration, spoke to JOHN OGIJI in Minna on the achievements of Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and preparations for the coming elections in the state. 

OBSERVERS say there is mass movement against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. How prepared is your party?  

 Did you say Mass Movement? Well, I haven’t seen that in Niger State, but I know for a fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is an amalgam of some opposition parties that we in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are very familiar with and who have defeated individually in the past.  

  So, I will say APC, as presently constituted in Niger State, does not in any way pose a threat to the chances of the PDP in the state. 

  APC members are people we have defeated in previous elections and we will defeat them again at this round of elections.

But people believe the popularity of its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, would rub-off positively on its governorship candidate in the state?

  Elections are not won through hypothesis founded on speculations. Rather, party faithful and supporters vote their preferred candidates based on evidence on the ground. 

  For instance, the people of Niger have been voting PDP because of the good work that we are doing and our robust policies and programmes.

  The ruling party has become a household name, because the Aliyu administration has left developmental imprints that are difficult to ignore. 

  Our priority areas of education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and social security have seen progressive achievements in the last seven and a half years.

 Also, our Ward Development Projects (WDP) that ensures that each of the 274 wards receives N1m monthly is a huge success story. 

  Under the initiative, each ward takes full responsibility for proposing to the state government, development projects its consultative forum feels deserves priority attention. 

  These are all the good things that will continue to make PDP the preferred choice of the people of Niger and not any bandwagon effect people think Buhari’s candidature will create. The people of Niger will vote for the PDP in all the elections.

The recent defection of the Deputy Governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, to the APC is said to have ruffled feathers in the PDP. Don’t you think this development can affect your party’s chances?

  This Chief Servant himself has already addressed this issue when he said the defection of his deputy would not change anything, both in terms of their relationship and the fortunes of the PDP at the polls. 

  Having said that, let me re-iterate that Niger is a PDP state and nothing will change that. Suffice it to say that the party has a formidable structure, the type that no any other party has. Our presence is felt in all the 274 wards in the state. 

  As we speak, we have about 7,000 projects are spread across the 274 wards in the state, depending on the needs of each of the wards. Now, tell me why PDP won’t win elections? 

  The current administration has done so much to better the lot of the people and this cuts across all the critical sectors of the state’s economy. 

  We shall continue to do all the things that have made Niger a home for all. We shall continue to stamp our seal of excellence in all spheres of human endeavour, so that whoever comes here would want to live here forever.

  Let me also assure you that the incoming PDP administration of Umar Muhammad Nasko will consolidate on our landmark achievements in all the sectors, with a lot of attention on agriculture. 

  Between 2007 and now, we procured 400 units of tractors and distributed to the Tractor Hiring Units Implementation programme in the 25 councils, with the aim of boosting agricultural production. 

  We also revitalised agricultural extension infrastructure by renovating nine centres across the state and distributing 100 motorcycles to facilitate the movement of the extension workers. 

  This has given meaning to the lives of our rural farmers and would be sustained by the Nasko administration, in sha Allah.

  Nigerlites should also expect more work to be done at the Niger Rice Investment Consortium (NSRIC) Project, which we established to boost rice production and position the state as the major producer of high quality rice in the country. 

  Recall that to get the project off the ground, we established and equipped five agricultural equipment hiring centres of the project in the rice producing communities of Doko, Jima, Mambe, Ndaloke and Gaba. 

  Irrigation programme has also enjoyed a boost with the reactivation of 16 schemes across the state to boost all-year farming. 

  We have also registered over 270,000 farmers under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES). It is because of our modest efforts that Niger was selected as one of four additional phase II states for the implementation of the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP II), in collaboration with the World Bank and French Development Agency.   

How are the government and indeed the state chapter of the PDP managing the discontent that now pervades the party in the aftermath of the primaries, which have since led to the defection of some hitherto loyal members?

  You see, there is no big organisation, anywhere in the world, whether political or otherwise, that does not have problems. Our great party, PDP has got its share of problems. 

  I know some of our party men are not very happy with the outcome of the primaries, but a lot of efforts have gone into reconciling and bringing back aggrieved party faithful. I am glad to inform you that these efforts are already yielding fruits. 

But let me also say that the party expects all those who lost out in the primaries to accept the will of God, since in any contest, there can be only one winner.

  But beyond fence mending, I insist that our major selling point is the fact that we have performed wonderfully well in all the key sectors of the economy. 

  Therefore, I have no doubt that we will sweep the upcoming polls. 

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