By Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo
The immediate past Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini has declared that he will recontest for the Lau State House of Assembly Constituency election in line with the decision of his Constituents who bought and presented the All Progressives Congress APC interest and Nomination forms to him.
Professor Kunini made the declaration in Jalingo shortly after receiving the forms presented to him by critical stakeholders of the Lau State Constituency who urge him to shelve his ambition to contest for the Lau/Karim /Ardo Kola Federal Constituency.
He said that after representing the people of his constituency at the State Assembly for some time, he decided to vie for the higher position of House of Representatives but since his people have insisted that they still need him to represent them at the State Assembly, he is obliged to follow their decision.
“I must say that today is historic in so many ways and is particularly an emotional moment for me. My plans ahead of 2027 was to contest for the House of Representatives and I have gone far with the consultation already. So far, the response has been quite impressive. But then here we are, the people of my immediate Constituency whom I represented at the State House of Assembly have different plans.
“My political ambitions can never be more important than the choice of my people. I am but a servant anyway. And so, in as much as I had different plans, I can not turn down the sacrifices of these people who went out of their way to source for funds, purchase the forms for me and have just presented to me. They did not only ask me to set aside my ambition. They made a serious commitment. That is priceless.
“I have listened to them and their reasons for this decision and I must say that they have valid points. And so I want to declare to all of you here today and to the entire people of Lau State Constituency that I Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini have heed your call and have answered. I will vie for the State Assembly seat as you have requested and will serve you even better than before. I am humbled at the confidence you have reposed in me and I will not let you down” he said.
The leader of the delegation Hon. Emmanuel Umar earlier noted that the stakeholders took the decision after painstaking consultation at all levels and have drawn conclusions that they still needed him at the State Assembly where he is closest to the people.
“Over the years, we have worked closely with you Professor Alkinjo and we know that if you contest for the House of Representatives, it will be a walk in the field for you. However, after due consideration, we please to be selfish for once. We still need you at the State Assembly. And so we urge you to shelve your ambition and answer our Clarion call. As a show of our commitment and seriousness, we have obtained the interests and nomination forms for you. All you have to do is to accept our offer which we make with sincere hearts”.
The Director General of Alkinjo campaign organisation Hon. Gelishion Bethuel while presenting the forms to Professor Kunini noted that “today, your track records and footprints across Lau Local Government Area speaks for you. I am proud to serve as your campaign DG because I know I am doing the will of our people. I am confident that when, it is no longer a matter of if but when, you emerge as Member again, you will surpass what you have done so far
“Let me use this opportunity to urge all of you gathered here today to play politics by the rules. We are aware that the man we are working with is a peace loving person who does not believe in violence or manipulations. Let us therefore take this message to our people at the grassroots that he has accepted to do their bidding but we must not entertain the temptation to be drawn into unwholesome display in response to actions of the opposition”.
Hon. Nicholas Nwaniyafinwani, Former Chairman Lau Local Government Area in his remarks on behalf of other former Chairmen and elected officials in the Local Government Area noted that working with Kunini as a member made his work a lot easier and pledged the support of the stakeholders to his hitch free reelection.