Kwankwaso in Benin, deplores nepotism

IN a subtle swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari who is accused of populating the presidency with his kinsmen from his hometown of Daura, Katsina state, former Kano state Governor and Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has promised to run an all-inclusive government devoid of nepotism.

Kwankwaso who was in the Edo state capital yesterday to drum support for his presidential his bid said that it was cause for serious concern that most Nigerian leaders resort to nepotism by appointing incompetent people from their village and friends instead of shopping for the best hands from every part of the country.

The horde of party supporters who converged at the party secretariat amidst singing and drumming by red-capped Kwankwasiya Movement members included former Edo state Governor Lucky Igbinedion, Senator Mathew Urhoghide (Edo South), Senator Odion Ugbesia, the state PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih,the party governorship candidate in the 2016 election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and a host of others.

He said that he believed in the principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution but it doesn’t mean that it should be abused by political office holders who chose to run a government of incompetent friends and family.

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Kwankwaso said: “If it comes to gifts, I can dole out to my friends and family members but when the job has to be done, I will look for the right person whether he is a Christian or Muslim. It doesn’t matter if he is from the South or North. At the end of the day, it is the leader that takes the glory if the job is well done. Leaders must look for the best hands. Federal character doesn’t mean that you have to bring somebody from your village.”

He said that the biggest problem facing the country is lack of capacity by some people, adding that some people want to be president when it is very obvious that they lack the mental and physical capacity to have the work done.

The former minister of defence advised that the opposition party should field its presidential flag bearer from the North West geopolitical zone as it is the most populated going by the last population exercise, noting that as an indigene of Kano state with the most populated state in the country, the cap perfectly fits him.

Moved by Kwankwaso’s speech which was more of a lecture in governance, Orbih remarked that it was high time the PDP organized a debate for all the aspirants whom he described as very eloquent.

He said: “I am very impressed with the quality of our presidential aspirants. The National Executive Committee of the PDP should call for a debate of all the aspirants so that we can see the quality of the aspirants who want to give the country a new direction.”