Former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekerau has said that the priority of the Federal Government should be to ensure security of lives and property in the Northeastern states troubled by insurgency, and that elections should be an afterthought.
Shekerau made the comments whilst speaking with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Jonathan.
He said: “You see as a democrat, I always insist that let there be elections to allow people to decide their fate, but this does not necessarily mean we conduct elections under a volatile situations.”
“If there are threats to lives, who are you going to govern; even if you win the election? So it is not safe and I don’t see anybody spitting fire on it. The truth is that let the governors, the federal government and all concerned join hands and assess the situation. What will the federal government gain or INEC gain if they don’t conduct elections in any state?”
“But if it is in the interest of the public, the lives and security of the people are far more important than any election that you can think of.” Shekarau said.
On the upcoming PDP rally in Kano, he stated, “Well it is true the President is paying a visit to Kano and it is going to be on Tuesday for a grand reception rally. It is basically to celebrate our coming into PDP in the best way we can and also to reassure the Kano citizens that Kano is now fully a PDP environment.
“It is going to be a very grand occasion because if anybody cares to know the political trend in Kano, all along ANPP had been in charge. ANPP moved into APC and we moved the whole of ANPP into APC. So it is going to be a great day for all of us and we are waiting for the reception and we are inviting one and all to come and share with us.”
On the political affiliation of Kano, Shekerau said the state did not belong to APC despite the position of the governor.
“So we assure you and I want to say with all sense of humility, I was in APC and I have moved away with my supporters to the PDP. As for APC, in Kano, the governor is APC, his government is APC, there will always be pockets of other parties. If you go to Kano, you will discover that every other party will have their shares. Definitely PDP is on the ground, we are in charge in Kano.”