Ahmed Yar’Adua, a cousin to former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has promised to address insecurity in Katsina State, if elected governor.
Yar’Adua, former Secretary to Katsina State Government (SSG), made the pledge in Abuja on Wednesday shortly after purchasing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination and expression of interest forms.
The aspirant, who attributed insecurity in the state to poverty, neglect in governance especially at the local levels, said that the local government areas would be his top priority, if elected.
“Now, back to banditry. It is the issue of total neglect, not only in governance, but also in the approach to governance itself.
“When there is no local government, you can see what is happening. What’s happening is that they are only sending these administrators to go for part time, go in the morning and return to their local government.
“But if you have an elected representative, people tend to enjoy because they now know their representatives and are being represented well,” he said.
Yar’Adua, who has been contesting for the third time, said he decided to recontest because he believed that he would make a difference this time due to the passion he has for the state.
He expressed confidence that PDP would reclaim Katsina State, saying “our party has a good chance this time to reclaim the state”.
“We may have an incumbent governor, but we were incumbent once, but we lost.
“So the APC will lose again because it is about what the people believe and we can deliver.
“The leadership of the party has made a difference, and that I have been part of that progress we recorded from 1999 to 2015 when we lost the election due to mostly what I call emotion for the present government.
“We didn’t lose due to bad governance, performance but based on sympathy,” he added.
The aspirant further stated that despite his relationship with late President Yar’Adua, he stands a better chance of winning the election because of his vast experience in public service.
“The late President Yar’Adua is my first cousin.
“I believe that I earned my own right to contest for this position. My relationship with my late cousin helped me, but also my experience in the public service matters.”
