2015: Drop Sambo As Your Running Mate Or Lose – PDP Women Leader Tells Jonathan

Sambo-and-Jonathan-480x300A women leader and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP member from the Northwest region, Hajia Binta Kuraye has faulted a chieftain of the party from the region, Hon. Bello Haliru for the statement he made during the grand finale of the Transformation Ambassador of Nigeria, TAN, rally in Abuja that the region supported Jonathan/Sambo candidacy for 2015 elections.

The women leader said while people of the region want President Goodluck Jonathan to re-contest in 2015, they do not want him to pick Vice President Namadi Sambo as his running mate.

There have been speculations that Jonathan is under pressure to drop Sambo as his running mate in 2015 due to his perceived lack of electoral value.

Sambo’s sins, according to Kuraye, who spoke yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, were that in the past four years in office, the vice-president has not done anything to justify his support from the people of the North West.

Her words: “Vice President has not done anything for the people of the region since he assumed office in 2011. Sambo was lying to the President that things are under control in the northwest when they are actually not. I think, he is playing politics that I know won’t do the party any good.

“I can tell you that because of the lack of grassroot support for the Jonathan and Sambo candidacy, most of the chieftains of the party from the region are not ready to tell the President the truth as it regards the current state of the region and people’s perception because they are bent on protecting their seats and personal interest.

“All the Northwest region wants Mr. President to come back in 2015, but the problem is that what Bello Haliru said at Eagle square that we are adopting Pesident Jonathan with Vice President Namadi Sambo is a lie, it is not true.

“You can’t force people against their wish, if things continue this way, on the day of the general election they will vote APC”

“The people of the region are supporting Mr. President but don’t want Namadi Sambo. He’s not doing anything for northwest. He didn’t even help anybody from northwest, even during the last Sallah, he could not share common salt and rice in Kaduna State.

“We are begging Mr. President to change the vice president as his running mate immediately. If not, there will be a problem in the presidential election in 2015, because people will refuse to vote for the president in 2015 if he chooses Sambo as his running mate

“As far as I am concerned, anyone telling Mr. President that there is no problem in Northwest is lying. Out of 100 per cent, maybe ten per cent like Mr. President, all the 90 per cent of the people from the zone will refuse to vote the president because of Sambo. They don’t want to hear Jonathan’s name at all. So, why are these people deceiving this man?”

Kuraye further insisted that Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Kastina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states are not guaranteed for the president come 2015, if he insists on sticking with Sambo as his running mate.

“As the election is fast approaching, I urge Mr. President to please open his eyes I can tell you that there is no single campaign office in the northwest, if anyone tries to open the office, it will be set on fire because the people are not enjoying the dividends of democracy”, she said.