Kaduna Guber: I Will be the one to Unseat El-Rufai at the Polls –Says, Jalal Falal

Kaduna Guber: I Will be the one to Unseat El-Rufai  at the Polls –Says, Jalal Falal

Zainab Tanimu

Kaduna, North-West, NIGERIA

Vibrant, articulate and promising young Jalal Falal is one candidate that is seriously warming up for the gubernatorial race come 2019 general election.

Some political Pundits have identified him as one man who is going to heat up Kaduna State’s gubernatorial race. According to them, he has in him the burning fire that can stir up the needed change.

Suffices to say that this game changer is not going to be an easy nut to crack for he has not only won the hearts of the youths but also those on the other side.

With the Baba Buhari’s recent declaration of the, “Not Too Young to Run, the sky he said is his limit.

Fueled by the determination to bring change to the people of Kaduna state, he had promised to put his wealth of experience to bear. Kaduna state he said needs to bounce back to those good old days and that task himself and his team promise to pursue. The terrain is not new to him, He added.

This assurance was given while addressing pressmen at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat Kaduna on Friday.

“I have been in the All Progressive Party (APC)  right from the inception of the party. I joined the APC through the CPC and most of the people here are very much aware of this fact. We merged with other political parties to form the APC. So, l am not new in politics”. He informed.

The burning issue of primaries in Kaduna was brought to fore as that was the basis for which the press conference was called.

The aspirant who was there with his team reiterated his stand and that of his group, “APC Kaduna State Stakeholders and Aspirants Forum” on the Kaduna State Governor’s decision to adopt indirect primaries in the state.

This decision they described as unacceptable. They argued that the most ideal mode of nominating candidates is the direct primaries.

Jalal opened up on the following issues which were jointly signed by members of the Forum.

“On behalf  the State Stakeholders and Aspirants Forum of the All Progressive Congress in Kaduna State, l come before you today to reiterate our collective decision in favour of the adoption of Direct Primaries as the most ideal mode of nominating the 2019 general elections candidates of our great Party in Kaduna State.

“We adopted this position after a very careful analysis of the dear geopolitical situation of
Kaduna State in particular and that of Nigeria in general.

“The role of the All Progressive Congress, the APC, as the ruling party is to say the least that it is very crucial in moving forward the political economy of our great country.

We hold the view that the APC as a governing party must work the talk.

Our party, the APC came to power on the Mantra of fighting corruption and the enthronement of the ideals of participatory democracy.

This process in itself begins with recruiting for election the most capable, popular and trusted candidates through due processes that are credible and widely accepted by members of the party.

“We object the Indirect Primaries precisely because, relying as it does on the delegate system, it
is by its very nature prone to the manipulative influence of the few and, what is worse, the
corruptive practice of vote buying.

” It is an open secret that the APC in Kaduna State has been under the total control of the Governor and his anointed godsons and daughters.

“The bulk of the membership of the party including critical stakeholders who have given their all
to enthrone APC in Kaduna State have been marginalized and excluded from the mainstream
of the affairs of the party. Perceived enemies of the Governor are hunted and persecuted to no end. Jobs are lost, homes and businesses are demolished with careless abandon and extreme premeditated malice.

“The recent ward, local government and state congresses could rightly be said to be the icing on the cake. Officials of the party were single handedly picked by the Governor and his aides. That is, own the affairs of the party. This is the backdrop against which the mass exodus from the party by his members has been taken place in the entire 23LGA’s of Kaduna state.

“As we speak, the outcome of the so-called congresses is still being contested vigorously in the courts of the land. Giving these deep rifts in the party, our Forum fails to see how indirect primaries can produce candidates with mass base support.

“If the APC is to retain Kaduna State, it must throw up for election of strong candidates for her
Gubernatorial and Legislative elections, candidates who can take on and win against the
possibly strong candidates of the other parties.

“With indirect primaries however, this critical issue is unlikely to meet the principal concern of the delegates. With conscience bought by the highest bidders, loyalties to the governor and his cronies’ delegates would rather remain bent on electing the candidates of the governor.

Already our incorruptible President Muhammadu Buhari and the National leadership of the All Progressive Congress have in their wisdom committed to direct primaries.

We urge the Kaduna State Governor and the party in the state to be on the same page with them to have  the moral courage and not only to do what is right but by taking the part of honor and shunning  such corruptive tendencies of indirect primaries in our body politics. It is equally important to have the ordersity to test their popularity through direct primaries.

Popular candidates would not fear direct engagement with party members and all general electorates

This position the statement added have been communicated to the national leadership of the party.

Contributing, a Senatorial aspirant Kaduna Central, Shamsudeen Giwa expressing concern over the issue of the primaries said, “if the president sees the need for direct primaries, anything contrary is a betrayer on the president”.

He has described the governor’s insistence on the adoption of the indirect primaries in Kaduna state as not going to hold waters because majority of the party members are in favor of direct primaries.

Adding that the gubernatorial candidate and the rest of them in the race are not afraid of testing their popularity as such are ready for the direct primaries.

It would interest you to know that the gubernatorial aspirant Jalal Falal aside being in politics for years is well informed on the issues related to the state for he had worked closely with some of the shakers and movers of the party..

Jalal had stated that the incumbent Governor,  Mallam Nasir El-Rufa staging a comeback to the Sir Kassim Ibrahim House is, but a tale for another day because he is the rightful occupant of the House.