*Mixed reactions trail from opposition
By; SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri
A lot of reactions have trailed Borno’s political arena following the recent explosive bombshell African Democratic Congress (ADC) 2023 Governorship Candidate, Hajiya Fatima Abubakar said in Maiduguri that being the first female in the history of Borno State, she is going to defeat the incumbent governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the polls.
She argued that despite the volume of capital projects and programmes the ruling party has executed and implemented at various locations of the state across the liberated 25 LGAs, there are lots of challenges and issues which are humanitarian and developmental to the rural and urban majority of the people that have been either neglected or unfulfilled against electioneering campaign promises.
Fatima further said welfare packages and other benefits of the civil servants at both the state and local government levels remain of great concern and serious issues burning the hearts of innocent and dedicated civil servants who are already highly aggrieved with what is going on as some workers don’t even know when last they received their salaries and allowances or retired workers who spent 35 years in serving the state and LGCs have not received their salaries and pensions including arrears of gratuities and promotional benefits for years.
Hajiya Fatima Abubakar who is the only female governorship candidate contesting the governorship election in Borno State, expressed this while in Maiduguri on Thursday with our correspondent, while fielding questions on a telephone conversation on her political ambitions to be the next governor of Borno State come 2023 despite popularity of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and his executed projects and programmes.
She revealed also that she has commenced serious campaigns going to house-to-house campaigning properly and physically reaching out to the electorates who are mostly women that will elect her on election day as governor of the state.
Fatima also noted that all these compounded problems and weaknesses of the ruling party are pointers and openers for her victory she said, ”we have been capitalizing in these and other weaknesses of the ruling party to mobilize for votes as opposition party no hence people are already tired of his government and bow worried.’
” As an opposition candidate, like the way and manner my colleagues in PDP and CNPP are also criticizing the government in many ways on the media, I am doing same to convince our people that there is a lot that is needed to be done which In sha Allah, we shall fulfil our promises and do it in the overall interest of our people, especially, those at the grassroots who are highly neglected or abandoned.
”We assure them that the era of unfulfilled electioneering campaign promises is over now with ADC. They shou;d only give us their votes and the mandate to govern the state for the first time, even as a woman to serve them more effectively and for them to see the change, hence women are more trusted than the men,” Fatima said.
Fatima however, expressed full confidence over her victory, pointing out that she has lots of opportunities and chances to win or defeat the incumbent APC of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum during the forthcoming March 2023 general elections.
The ADC Gubernatorial Candidate further argued that she has been already gathering momentum by way of gaining more and stronger support from the womenfolk and girls, especially in the rural areas and among women groups and associations in sympathy and solidarity for her as a woman in addition to the acceptability and popularity that she enjoys from the male counterparts, particularly, the youth, who form the large electorate age group next to women.
Reacting to why she is certain of winning the governorship election or emerging as the next governor of Borno State as a female candidate despite APC candidate’s incumbency and popularity or work that he has done that people are seeing on ground, she stressed that she has been gaining more support and popularity from the electorate all over and that motivated and convinced her that she is certainly going to win the governorship election at the polls in March 2023.
“I want to urge women and youth we are reaching out to, to also extend the messages to others on the need to try the few female candidates in this contest for positive change.
”We are also making our plans and preparation for our rallies across the state as the electoral law provides. We shall go round also and campaign in all the three senatorial’ zones.
“I am getting more popular with more supporters, particularly women, who believe in my capacity to bring more and better transformation in the lives of women and youth in Borno,” Fatima said.
She also denied the rumours being circulated that she withdrew from the governorship race because her campaign posters and billboards were destroyed by opponents and now not visible like other governorship candidates posters and billboards, explaining that her posters or billboards were not damaged and they are still coming out with more hence there is still time for campaigns and rallies.
The ADC candidate further solicited for peaceful conduct of campaigns and election, while suggesting for a free, fair, smooth credible and acceptable election throughout the period.
She called on other political party’s candidates to play the game of politics and carry out their campaigns on issue-based, not threats or attacks on personality or otherwise of candidates, neither using political thugs by way of encouraging thuggery, which Fatima said is against the electoral law and rules and regulations, guiding the electoral process as well as candidates to accept defeat or decision of the electorate with the spirit of sportsmanship, no loser, no vanquish.
Fatima further advised that, “We should rather be working now for a better Borno State, not selfish interest or centered government and we should respect the people’s choice in good faith.”
Although, in a swift reaction, a grassroots politician and APC supporter, Dr. Hassan Alhaji Hussain of Bulumktutu Ward, Maiduguri has condemned the ADC governorship candidate’s utterances, describing her comments as over ambitious and impossible with the acceptability and popularity of the incumbent governor and giant strides in capital projects execution and implementation of people oriented programmes, especially the poverty alleviation scheme and IDPs resettlement stabilization and livelihood support programme.
He added that the ruling party’s consistency and sustainability in rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of educational, health, administrative, water supply, roads and agricultural facilities among others, have transformed the state and could serve as yardsticks for his return to power to continue with the good works he has strated years back.
” I have no doubt Borno people will; give him chance to continue with the work he had strated. His people like him and he is popular among them all over. They respect him and like what he is doing. For example, the IDPs resettlement, schools building, hospital buildings and equipments provision, roads construction, water resuscitation and return of farming activities t the rural/l areas among others,” Hassan said.
While Alhaji Bala Mohammed of PDP, Shuwari Area of M’una Garage Maiduguri said, “whatever it is, Borno people are now tired of Zulum government and failed promises. They now know very well what kind of leader he is. So, we have no problem in removing him from office in 2023 polls.
”We are set and determined to change the leadership of the state next year. The opposition are tired and we cannot continue to fold our arms and watch people of Borno suffer in silence. As opposition, we promise them, we shall stand up and do the right thing. Other parties are also running for some positiond and it will be victory for the opposition this time around, I bet you.
”We are serious and even more serious mobilizing already, going round places, despite the challenges of attacks and threats by opponents during our campaigns. We are not going back. We have won election in the past, but it was hijacked but this time around, no way, as we shall not allow such to happen again,” Mohammed said,
It would be recalled that from the books or records of the Borno State INEC Headquarters Maiduguri, Hajiya Fatima Abubakar is the only female candidate that is in the Governorship race, contesting with eleven (11) other candidates from other political parties in the state.
However, there are a total of 280 various candidates that have been cleared and are contesting or participating in the 2023 general elections in Borno State in February and March 2023, where only 16 female candidates have been cleared and are contesting for various positions.
