Bomba Dauda
As the June 17, 2022 dateline of INEC for all political parties to submit list of candidates for President, Governors, Senators and House of Representatives candidates ahead of the 2023 General election, which implies that Presidential and Governorship candidates are expected to name their running mates before June 17, the choice of who becomes running mate is now in the front burner.
A lot of permutations and horse trading are going on by powerbrokers and various political entities suggesting suitable candidates with good track records that will broadens the party’s chances of winning the general election.
The Coalition of Southern Kaduna APC Volunteer Groups (CSKVG) cum stakeholders are clamouring for the former Commissioner of Agriculture to Gov. Nasiru El-rufai of Kaduna State from 2015-2019, Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari to be considered as the running mate to the party’s flagbearer, Senator Uba Sani.
In a press statement, yesterday, in Kaduna, they said, to attain electoral success, we are concerned with the choice of who occupies the running mate position.
They further added that, We find it expedient to call on the leaders of our party, especially from the Southern part, to tread with caution on the matter and ensure we get a candidate that would add value to the candidacy of Distinguished Senator Sani.
After painstaking assessment of running mate aspirants from Southern Kaduna, we have chosen Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari, a former Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce under the first tenure of His Excellency, Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai. Our choice of Dr Manzo as the running mate to our governorship candidate has been arrived at after a painstaking assessment of authentic qualities whose headship of the two ministries he served witnessed landmark achievements.
His leadership in the Ministry for Agriculture led to the support of no fewer than 300 Southern Kaduna youths and women with grants, ranging from N1.3 million to N3.2 million to assist them start Agribusinesses. Apart from establishing three commodities Aggregation Centres to boost Agribusiness in the State, no fewer than 252 Southern Kaduna youths were recruited as Forest Rangers. As Commissioner of Commerce, he upgraded the 24 BATCs to Community Skills Development Centres in Kaduna State and fully equipped them for optimal use.
Since the emergence of the APC Administration in Kaduna State in 2015, there has been no Southern Kaduna politician who has contributed so much in terms of attracting goodwill and popularity to the party than Dr Manzo. This rising technocrat of exemplary character who has equipped himself with requisite knowledge of Agribusiness in Business School, Netherland; Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies in Lee Kuan Yew Institute for Public Policy, Singapore; and an MBA Leadership and Sustainability in view from Royal Kennedy College, Switzerland/ University of Cumbria, remains an unbeatable candidate for nomination for the choice of running mate to our APC Governorship Candidate.
Manzo, who has held many high-profile positions in Kaduna State, including the Chairman, AGRA-Kaduna Policy Advocacy Team for Extension Service Climate Smart Agriculture (2022); Chairman, National stakeholders Committee, Climate Smart Agriculture (2O21) and now Director General, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, NABG since 2019, among dozens of appointments, is an exceptional political assets that must be deployed to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming general elections in 2023.
His greatest strength is in his humanist disposition and rallying developing partners for several interventions to the Ginger value chain in which no fewer than 75,000 youths and women in southern Kaduna were supported with credit facilities and inputs, including creating 60,000 jobs under the supervision of his company, AgroLog Limited. As the Chairman of Greysoft Technologies, the former commissioner has been an advocate of IT skills to confront challenges of the future. To demonstrate his concern for the people, in February 2022, through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of his company, he donated relief materials to no fewer than 10,000 IDP families in the state, especially in Southern Kaduna, including supporting them with ginger seeds and other inputs for economic recovery.
As a group, we have not consulted with Dr Manzo on the need to throw his hat in the ring, but we are calling on leaders of APC, especially from Southern Kaduna, to nominate this Veterinary Doctor and accomplished technocrat to be nominated to serve as a running mate as he is an invaluable asset to not only Southern Kaduna but also the state and the country in general. There is no doubt that if the Kaduna State APC wants to maintain its song of victory in 2023, the need to nominate Dr. Manzo as deputy to Distinguished Sen Sani is imperative.
Even out of government, the former commissioner has demonstrated loyalty and faithfulness to the APC. Nominating him as a running mate would boost the chances for victory for our Party.
