From: TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
A coalition of Niger Delta youth groups have called on former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shakarau, to come out and declare his intention to contest for the 2019 presidential election.
Chairman of the coalition, Wilson Harry, who spoke, on Monday, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, said that the former Kano governor had a track record of performance, both as a former governor and a minister.
Harry said that Shakarau’s antecedents would market him as a presidential candidate.
The groups further stated that Shakarau, as a former governor, transformed Kano State “through quality infrastructures, job creation, human capital development, security, education, many roads, bridges as well as empowerment”.
“The track record of Shakarau in governance both as a former governor and a minister is there for everybody to see. As a governor, he constructed many roads, bridges, and schools in Kano State.
“He collaborated with security agencies to police the entire Kano State and ensured that lives and property were secured.
‘During his tenure of eight years, there was no religious crisis in Kano. The State was very peaceful. During his tenure as a former governor of Kano, he championed a crusade for all inclusive governance, where non-indigenes were cabinet members and that brought peace in Kano.
“As a minister, he had a very good cordial relationship with our leader, former President Goodluck Jonathan. He was able to implement government policy on construction of Almajiri schools in the North, which lots of northern youths benefited.
” He was very loyal to Jonathan and supported him up to his last days as president of Nigeria. We, the youths of Niger Delta, see him as a detribalised Nigerian and wish he would yield to our call and position himself for 2019 presidency”, the coalition said.
The groups, however, called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Nigerians at large, to see Shakarau as a potential marketable candidate that could fly their flag, and consider him as their flag bearer in 2019 presidential election.
They expressed optimism stated that Shakarau presidency would bring lasting to peace to the country.