Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, a leading Presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] has urged the delegates of the PDP in Bayelsa to be open-minded and not be sentimental when they cast their vote to elect the presidential flagbearer of the party come May 28 in Abuja.
Mr Tambuwal who arrived in Yenagoa on Tuesday afternoon first went into a closed-door meeting with the state governor, Doye Diri, before heading to the party secretariat where he was received by a mammoth crowd who defied the heavy rain to welcome the governor who they described as one of their own.
Engaging the delegates, Mr Tambuwal said the party must get it right by voting for someone with a pan Nigerian mindset, the right temperament, character and competence to run a dynamic Nigeria.
In his words; "When you are looking for the best, don't be sentimental. When President Obasanjo created NDDC, he was not from the Niger Delta. ?But it was out of his pan Nigerians. When President Yar Adua was president, he created the ministry of Niger-Delta, he was not from the Niger-Delta but out of his pan-A Nigeria outlook. I'm a pan-Nigerian and I have a network of friends across the length and breadth of this country. I understand the issue and iu can assemble a team that can work and move this country forward. It's about teamwork. No man is an island. It has to be collective.
"Support a candidate that understands the issue of Nigeria, someone who understands federal character, who understands the complexity of Nigeria. Select someone who has been tested with a position such as Speaker of the House of Representatives and ran the house transparently; someone who understands issues across each state.
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"For example, if and when we emerge as President of Nigeria, I will partner with the government of Bayelsa to establish a deep seaport in Bayelsa. This will decongest the port in Lagos and Port Harcourt. This will bring jobs opportunity, development and focus on Bayelsa.
"We must develop aquatic life in Bayelsa state. We must come up with a proper and practicable master plan for proper clean up of oil spillage on our communities and not the 419 one they have been brandishing everywhere."
Governor Tambuwal equally promises to run an inclusive government if he emerges as the party's flagbearer.
Responding, the acting PDP chairman said the state is aware of Governor Tambuwal's pedigree as a Speaker and now as Governor as well as Chairman of the PDP Governors' Forum.
He promises the former Speaker the bloc votes of the delegates as his candidature resonates well with the majority of the delegates in the state.
