Choose Presidential Candidate Wisely, Dankwambo Tells PDP Delegates

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Gombe State Governor and Presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo has urged delegates to the PDP national convention to be cautious in the choice of presidential candidate that will provide alternative leadership in the country come 2019.

He spoke at a meeting with the PDP elders and stakeholder in Uyo, noting that the party “needs somebody that is energetic, competent, qualify and possesses genuine certificate or credential to fly the party flag in the presidential race.”

With the array of presidential aspirants coming out under the PDP platform, Dankwambo said the burden “is now on the delegates as they need wisdom in order to make a good choice.

“In our party, we have great people of similar qualification who can fill this kind of position. So you have enormous responsibility as delegates to our party convention to choose someone that will be an alternative and acceptable to Nigerians.

“Nigerians will be looking at the PDP with sentiment and gauge whether the person the party will present is a good alternative or a person that can dance the tune of another person. They are watching us, but the only thing we need is the wisdom to choose a leader.

“The PDP today has a pool of leaders that can occupy any kind of position that is available in this country. One of such leaders is me. All that is happening today is a gap in leadership.”

He said having been a beneficiary of good leadership of PDP from 1999 till date, as a state Accountant-General, Accountant General of the Federation and governor at the age of 56; he was not too young or too old to be the president of the country.

He said: “I am a beneficiary from 1999 till date of good PDP leadership. In 1999, I was accountant general of my state, under five years I was accountant general of the federation, under five years, I was a governor and today I am still a governor. May be in the next few months a former governor, may be in the next few months a president of this country.

“Everybody know what is happening in this country now, whether unemployment, hunger; bad economy management is visible, no business, insecurity, anything. But what I want to talk about is that there is hope at the end of the tunnel.”

Dankwambo said he would bring his wealth of experience to bear in the running of affairs in the county having participated in so many economy reviews, management, various kind of reforms and things in repositioning the country.

“There is no any document anybody can stand before you today that he will bring new. Anything that you need to reposition in this country is there in the archives. The most important thing is that the people are there, but the people are not known.

“There is nothing you can do on inflation that had never been done by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). There is nothing you can do on Debt Management Office that has not been done in this country. All these things were there.

“But you need somebody that is competent, qualify, has genuine certificate to put together those document and provide leadership for our dear country.

“We have been prepared by this country to do our quota. If given opportunity I will do my best I have done my best before, you can see, feel, smell and scene it in all the sectors that I have gone through. I will do my best if given higher responsibility.

The state chairman of PDP, Obong Paul Ekpo while welcoming the presidential aspirant described him as a man of honour noting that the encomiums on Dankwambo by various elders in the meeting were well deserved.

He described the presidential candidate as a friend to the state and prayed everything he needs to achieve his rescue mission of the country should be available and actualised.