By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
Thousands of supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, gathered at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, in their thousands for a rally to receive decampees into the party.
The decampees were from various political parties but mostly from the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state.
NATIONAL ACCORD reports that the decampees were led by Sule Katagum, a former deputy governor during the last APC administration of Mohammed Abubakar, a former gubernatorial aspirant of the APC in the May primary in the state, Farouk Mustapha and former APC North-East Zonal Women Leader, Hajiya Amina Manga; the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman; among others.
Atiku Abubakar was accompanied by his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa; the National Chairman of the party, Iyiorcha Ayu; Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal and Former Vice President Namadi Sambo.
Others are: Governors of Bauchi, Bala Mohammed; Adamawa, Umaru Fintiri and that of Taraba, Darius Ishaku. Their deputy governors were also in attendance.
Former governors of Jigawa, Sule Lamido; Adamawa, Boni Haruna and Gombe, Ibrahim Dankwambo; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; among other dignitaries.
The Bauchi State PDP Chairman in his welcome address said that the decampees were 25,000 from the APC and other political parties who decided to join the party because of the giant strides of governor Bala Mohammed.
“Today, we are going to receive decampees who are well over 25,000 including a former deputy governor in the former APC government, we have the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly who also defected from the APC, we also have a former State Treasurer and many other people who are among us.
“Your Excellency, politics is local, everybody should know that we cannot bring in people for nothing. What they have seen or to witness is the tremendous achievement done by our Governor for the last three years.
‘That shows that indeed, Bauchi is the home of PDP. We want to assure you, Mr. President and the National Chairman that the PDP has come to stay and we are afraid of any election, inshallahu, we are going to win.
“We are going to deliver Bauchi to you, Mr. President, we are going to deliver PDP to all PDP candidates.”
The Director General of the Bala Mohammed Gubernatorial Campaign Organization, who was one of the three people who spoke on behalf of the decampees, said they were over 142,000.
Mustapha, a former Member of the House of Representatives said: “I, Honourable Farouk Mustapha, in my capacity as a former gubernatorial aspirant in the APC in Bauchi State, I was formerly a member of the PDP, I came into limelight politically in the PDP and I rose to represent my constituency in the House or Representatives.
“Your Excellency, the incoming President, inshallah, I want to assure you that today, 5th October, you received me and my supporters and others who returned to the PDP. We are over 142,000, the MC had said we are 25,000, no, we are not 25,000, we are over 142,000 that returned.”
In his speech while receiving the decampees, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said he was not in Bauchi for his campaign yet but to receive the decampees who have returned to the PDP.
He said: “We are here to help you rejoice over this victory that you got in Bauchi state. Some months ago, I was here to commission many projects which I have not seen in Bauchi before except during this administration of Bala Mohammed, Kauran Bauchi and also under the PDP.
“People of Bauchi, I want to take this time to rejoice with you because you have gotten a good leadership which is bringing progress and development in Bauchi State. But you have to think that northern politics started here in Bauchi, this is the epicenter of politics in northern Nigeria and because of that, you shouldn’t take PDP with any laxity.
“Today, the PDP has greatly increased in number and because of that, nobody will come and oppose PDP in Bauchi state, nobody will come and oppose Kauran Bauchi.
“We will still come back, this is not our campaign for election, we are here to receive our brothers who have returned to our party. We will still come back for the campaign and just as I know Bauchi, I believe that that campaign rally will have more crowd than this many times over.”
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