Nigerians need a service delivery government-Turaki
By Dirisu Yakubu
ABUJA-Former Minister of Special Duties and 2019 Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has expressed hope that the 2019 general elections would offer Nigerians opportunity to enthrone a service delivery government at the national level.

Turaki who stated this in an exclusive chat with Vanguard Newspaper on Wednesday said the PDP, more than any of the registered political parties in the land, has the required experience to bail the nation out of her current difficulties. According to him, the leadership of the party, given its commitment, pledge and readiness to conduct her affairs in credible and transparent manner, has offered Nigerians a window of opportunity to make their country great again.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) also tasked Nigerians to spare a moment to reflect on the three years stewardship of President Muhammadu Buhari as they march to the polling units to cast their ballots in 2019. According to him, “Nigerians need a responsive government; a government that understands the sanctity of the social contract it signed while accepting the people’s mandate to govern; a government that is prepared to deal decisively with the scourge of unemployment and poverty.”

He continued: “When leaders muster the courage to seek an elective office, they should be prepared to make impact in the lives of the people. Today, our people are suffering and everywhere you go, there is frustration and a near hopelessness, the like of which, we have not witnessed in this country for a very long time.”

On what stands him apart from the pack of contenders for the sole ticket of the party, Turaki said the emphasis should be on what the party has to offer Nigerians come 2019, noting that at the end of the Presidential convention of the PDP, the ticket bearer would be known to Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora.

He also spoke on the preparation for the polls and the mood of Nigerians heading to the elections saying, “The PDP is ready and we are asking for a free, fair and transparent process. We have shown Nigerian our capacity in the past and we are prepared to do even more if Nigerians give us their mandate in 2019. I urge them to make comparison of their lives of the first three years of a PDP administration and the past three years of this government. The result should be enough to guide them in taking that historic decision.”

Turaki who is able the Chairman of the PDP Former Ministers’ Forum also picked holes in the ruling party’s frequent recourse to buck passing even as it urged government to tell Nigerians what it has done since it took the reins of power three years ago.

“PDP took over from the military and went about the business of governance with all seriousness. We didn’t see excuses as the answers to the yearnings of Nigerians. For the records, anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were established. Federal Universities were established, not to mention the grand entrance of the Global System for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM) which provided millions of direct and indirect jobs for the citizens. It is three years today, Nigerians are eager to know what they (government) have done, not what they would do,” he added.