#TrackNigeria: Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has just completed his electioneering campaign in the Niger South Senatorial District, touring through Bida, Lapai, Agaie, Katcha, Gbako, Lavun, Edati and ending the state zonal campaign in Mokwa.
While the governor has been touring the zone, moving from one local government to another, meeting chieftains and traditional heads and supporters of the All Progressives Congress, there has been a snag in his campaign tactics.
The snag is that the Governor has failed to utter one word of promise of what the people should expect from him in the second term, apparently trying to distance himself from making any commitment to which the people will hold him to should he fail to deliver after the elections.
At each venue for the rallies in the local government, when the Governor mount the podium to speak, he rather solicits for votes or caution the people to work towards ensuring there is a free and fair election.
The Governor’s first point of call for his campaign was in Bida which is regarded as the home for the Nupes, the Governor mounted the podium, appreciated everyone for their support and seek their support for the upcoming elections, after that, he asked that music be played to which he started dancing and from there, the rally ended.
In Agaie and Lapai, he may have said a word of promise when he said that education will continue to attract prime attention of his administration and that the people should expect good governance from him; he then traded his normal trait when he called for the people’s support appealing to them the ensure the vote for the All Progressives Party through the elections.
In Gbako and Kutigi, the Governor counseled political office seekers and their supporters not to turn the forthcoming general elections to a theatre of war saying elections should be regarded as a friendly contestation.
According to him, elections are designed for emergence of leaders and stressed that the civic responsibility should be carried out devoid of rancour and bloodletting while he enjoined party stalwards in the state to assiduously work together for the success of the party at all levels.
In Edati and Mokwa, called on Nigerians to give All Progressives Congress (APC) another chance to enable the party restore all the country has lost in the past and bring to completion the good works it started in 2015.
The Governor assured Nigerians that the re-election of the ruling party to power would enable it restore the lost glory of the state and the entire country stating that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to restoring the country from the bad goverance of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led administration which brought failure and economic melt down to the country.
“As the 2019 general elections draw near, I urge you all to vote for APC at levels in order to enable us complete the good works of restoring what we have lost during the 16 years of PDP reign and for this to come to reality we need your votes and support. We urge you to give APC another term so that we can complete our mission and vision of taking the state as well as the whole country to the next level.”
He further solicited for the votes and support of the people and appealed they should vote for APC throughout the forthcoming general elections.
After more than seven days of your, Nigerlites are yet to have a word or a clue of what his manifesto looks or sound like, they are yet to know if the Governor has any promise made for them.
This may be part of his plans not to be tied down to any promise made to his people just as he had disclosed last year that he did not make any promise to the people during the 2015 electioneering campaigns so the people cannot hold him accountable for promises he never made.
During an interface with journalists in May 2018, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello stated emphatically that he did not make any promise to the people of the state during the governorship campaigns in 2015 because of the high expectations of the people.
“I did not make any promise while campaigning in 2015. One thing we did during our campaign was that we made sure we did not make promise to the people. If we had promised heaven and earth, we would have faced problems from the public because there were a lot of problems.”
Right now, it seems he is taking that same decision not to make any promise to the people who are willing and waiting to hear what he would do in the next four years of his administration if he wins but seem to be disappointed as nothing has been said about what he will do for them.
A Political Analyst in Minna, Abdul Malik said the high expectations he has whenever the Governor goes on the podium in these state capital is usually crushed when the Governor speaks, “when all he says is support me, support APC, give us your votes, then music and dancing. It is just so disappointing. Is it that he does not have a plan for us in the next four years? Can’t he tell us the number of jobs he will create, the schools he will build, the roads he plan to repair and others? Does he think that Nigerlites do not need promises? “
A Supporter, Usman Bala said, “is it telling us to ensure free election that we want to hear? Everyone knows what is expected from him or her during and after the election. We know that and we do not want to hear it again. The Governor should tell us what he has for us and stop hiding under the umbrella of asking for support for APC and seeking a crisis free election. He should give us his plans for the state for the next four years. “
The people are however waiting as there still remains two more senatorial districts to be covered for campaigns, the people are awaiting with abated breath to hear what promises and plans the Governor has for them or if he will stick to his commitment of not making campaign promises. Nigerlites are still waiting for Governor Abubakar Sani Bello’s promises for his re-election bid.
Asishana, a journalist writes in from Minna.
