Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has advised the opposition to reach out to the people directly through campaign rallies, instead of reacting to what the All Progressives Congress (APC) is doing on social media.
The governor, who pointed this out during an interview with TVC, a Lagos-based television station, on Sunday night, further said, “If you are campaigning to win elections, you have to go out and meet with the people.”
According to him, “the only party that I see reaching out through town hall meetings, other than our party, is probably APM. I’m surprised. I have seen them going round. But you can not say the same with ADC and NDC.”
“Are they reaching out to the public, particularly the downtrodden? The answer is no. Have they come out with any strategy on their campaign? The answer is no. You can’t run a campaign by reacting to what another party is doing. Go and do your own campaign,” he advised.
The governor noted that instead of canvassing for the people’s support, the opposition is using digital technology like artificial intelligence, doctoring pictures, and posting on social media to disparage the APC.
He expressed optimism that the ruling APC is doing very well because “we are the only party that is reaching out, talking to the people. So, whether the opposition decides to come together or not, it’s not our business.’’
Governor Uba Sani recalled that the National Chairman of APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatada, had promised that the north would give President Bola Tinubu 70 per cent of its votes, promising that Kaduna State would give a higher percentage.
“In Kaduna State, allowing any candidate to even get 25 per cent of the votes is a failure on our side,” he pledged.
The governor cited various projects that the president has sited in Kaduna State in the last three and a half years, which the people never dreamt of, adding that “now we can see development, we can see intervention, we can see support.”
He commended the president for handing over the Ahmadu Bello Stadium to Kaduna State government, promising to reconstruct it to a FIFA-standard 33,000 seating-capacity stadium.
Governor Uba Sani also highlighted the reconstruction of the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari 123 km road, saying N178 billion has been released for the project, which had been abandoned for more than 40 years.
The Kaduna State governor also thanked President Tinubu for the ongoing reconstruction of the Zaria-Soba-Kambuwa road and the proposed Kaduna metropolitan light rail project, the second in the country.
According to him, $865 million has been approved for the rail project, while the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, has been mobilised with $300 million.
Governor Uba Sani also disclosed that Kaduna State now has four federal universities, including the upgraded Federal University of Education, Zaria; the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia; and the proposed Shehu Musa Yar’adua University of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, as well as Kaduna Polytechnic, which has been converted to the Federal University of Technology.
According to him, the only way that the good people of Kaduna State can reciprocate this kind gesture is to vote for President Tinubu massively.