2019: Restructuring my top priority – Makarfi

Former Governor of Kaduna state and presidential aspirant under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi has said that restructuring of Nigeria would be his top priority if elected as president come 2019. Makarfi who stated this during a meeting with Delta state PDP delegates to the national convention noted that he was not aspiring to the position of president because he was once the national chairman of the caretaker committee. He said his commitment to restructuring is not mere political talk saying that there must be a way to restructure the country and its agencies including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) such that political parties are represented in the commission. PDP Presidential hopeful said he was the architect of the first national conference under former president Olusegun Obasanjo when he was the governor of Kaduna state noting that so many vital areas which were classified as no go areas, were shot out. According to him :”I am not an opportunist. I am not coming out to be president because you once appointed national chairman of the caretaker committee. People may have forgotten that I was to succeed Obasanjo in 2007. “After we had gone round and I was ahead on the ballot, for some reasons, somebody far behind me on the ballot was selected. Some people were not happy but I agreed to withdraw from the race in the interest of the party and the country. “They didn’t believe that I was withdrawing, and the president then asked for a formal letter of withdrawal which I tendered in three days. I did that to ensure smooth transition from one civilian government to the other. “That didn’t stop me. I became the leader of the presidential campaign for Southw west. And they made a lot of promises to me which were not fulfilled. Again, I remained loyal to the party,” Makarfi said. He said that political leaders are not associated with so much money before they emerged as president of the country from the onset. He said Tafawa Balewa, Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and even President Muhammadu Buhari never paraded so much wealth before they were elected presidents at various times in the nation’s history. “They often underrate us but we have always performed excellently in any task given to us. That is how you know who is capable. We are focused and can never be distracted. “When I was running for governorship in 1998, all the big politicians were against me, saying I didn’t have enough money but political leadership is not determined by how much you have. “Having too much money is a distraction to the public service you are expected to render when you are elected,” he said.