Elections shift: Plans to unseat Goje concretize as six parties support PDP opponent   

The Media and Publicity Committee chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign organization in Gombe state, Alhaji Dahiru Hassann Kera, has said that the party is not disturbed by the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly election by one week.

Rather, he said, the party is gaining more support from other political parties who are coming together to support PDP candidates in the forthcoming National Assembly Elections come Saturday.

In his reaction to the postponement by INEC some hours to the commencement of the election, Alhaji Kera told our Correspondent that “with or without the postponement of the elections, PDP will win all our elections, going by the support we are getting from the people and the alliances we are entering into daily with other parties in the State”.

Kera alleged that that the postponement of the election might have been instigated by the ruling party for fear of an imminent defeat stressing that PDP has remained dogged in its struggle to rescue the country from the APC’s maladministration which he said has impoverished the citizens.

“What we demand from INEC is free, fair and credible elections. PDP will not be cowed with this election postponement. We call on our supporters to remain calm and come out en mass on 23rd February, 2019 to vote for Atiku Abubakar and other PDP senatorial and House of Representatives candidates. INEC and the APC are avoiding the inevitable,” he said.

Kera’s pronouncements is coming on the heels of a grand alliance by six political parties in Gombe Central Senatorial zone to support the candidate of the PDP and current Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Nasiru Abubakar Nono, who is contesting against the incumbent and former Governor of the State, Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje of the APC.

Speaking after a meeting of the alliance, spokesman of the political parties which included ACCORD party, DA, CAP, ASD, HDP and UPN, Comrade Aliyu Danmaka, State Chairman of ASD said fourteen parties have fielded candidates for the Senate seat of Gombe Central but that six of the parties have agreed to support and vote the PDP candidate, Nasiru Abubakar Nono.

According to him, “These parties, together with their chairmen, supporters and contestants have agreed to come out en-mass to vote Nasiru Abubakar Nono. We took this stand on three grounds. We consulted our supporters, the aspirants, and we the six chairmen. We sat down and agreed among ourselves, who is the better candidate to go to the Senate? We decided on Nono whom we feel will not be a bench warmer and will try his best to represent us well and bring development to Gombe State and the Northeast in general”.

Salisu S. Ahmed, the Senatorial candidate of the CAP said, “We have gathered to show our support to the PDP candidate, Honourable Abubakar Nasiru Nono. The reason for this is that all the development projects done in Gombe were executed by the PDP”.

According to him, “We feel we should withdraw our contest and support the PDP candidate so that he continues from where the party has stopped. We feel he has all it takes to ensure that our communities get the desired development. We have done this in consultation with our party leaderships. We will soon tell our supporters and we hope they will also support our moves,” he said.

On his part, Ibrahim Sambo Adamu, the DA candidate, said his party is in the alliance because it feels Nono has more political experience, coupled with what he has been able to achieve for his constituency using his political positions.

It will be recalled that two political parties and their candidates from Yamaltu-Deba Federal Constituency, UPN and NRM had lent their support to the candidature of the PDP, Honourable Inuwa Garba, last Thursday.