The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday said the majority of the persons who participated at the Peoples Democratic Party presidential rally which held in Sokoto were from neighbouring Niger Republic.
The governor, a member of the ruling party, APC, disclosed this during an inauguration of his campaign commitee in Kaduna.
The PDP launched its zonal presidential rally in Sokoto on Monday for the North-west. Thousands of people attended the rally which was addressed by the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
However, according to Mr El-Rufai, many of those that attended the rally were from neighbouring Niger Republic.
Mr El-Rufai said the PDP brought these people to show that they have supporters and ”because Sokoto indigenes refused to attend the rally.”
He said his governing party, All Progressives Congress (APC), will not allow looters and criminals return to power in 2019.
The governor vowed ”to go after each vote during the election” to ensure that Kaduna delivers in 2019.
He explained that the ideology of the ruling party and President Muhammadu Buhari is not to share public funds to few individuals ”but to work and improve the lives of the ordinary Nigerians.”
“Thieves have ganged up against President Muhammadu Buhari. Yesterday (Monday) they (PDP) went to Sokoto for a rally and brought in people from Niger Republic,” the governor said. ”This was to show that they have crowd because Sokoto people refused to attend.”
“Our people should be assured that the very day Buhari will come to Kaduna, all our people that will receive him will be Kaduna indigenes and not people from Niger.
“We will fight for every vote and persuade our people that you will only secure victory for the party you support when you vote on election day,” he said.
The governor also added that Kaduna has about 500,000 new voters, with Kaduna North Local Government Area recording 60,000 voters alone.
He also flayed the PDP saying in its16 years of governance, the party “left more than 400 primary schools of the state in a very bad condition.”
The PDP governed Kaduna from 1999 to 2015 before Mr El-Rufai of the APC defeated the then incumbent PDP governor.
Mr El-Rufai charged his campaign team members to go down to the grassroots to mobilise people to come out and vote on election day.
“We must run a grassroots campaign to mobilise our supporters on election day. We will not vote for hypocrites, we will not vote for criminals and we will not vote for those who cannot afford to ‘barb’ their hair,” he said.
