April polls: Nigerians may vote for individuals, not parties – Makarfi

Posted by admin Elections 2011 Sunday, March 6th, 2011

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance and former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has predicted that during the forthcoming general election in Nigeria, the people may likely vote for individuals and not necessarily political parties.

In an interview with newsmen in Kaduna, Makarfi said he believed that the election was going to be based on individuals and not political parties because in his constituency, “it is going to be based on the personalities involved. Even at that, I believe one should not take things for granted.

“One should do all the things that are necessary. Even if you are going unopposed, you have to get a certain number of votes for you to be declared elected.

“I was unopposed in my party during the primaries, but I did not sit back at home. I visited each local government and did all I needed to do as if there was a contest and that is the approach I have decided to adopt for the forthcoming general election,” Makarfi said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State, he said, had to work hard in order to retain power after the general election.

“I have said so, in respect of myself, that no matter the appeal I have, I do not take things for granted. So, at the state level we should not take things for granted that we have the government and the people and the resources. We should do what we need to do. The first thing we need to do is to bring about true reconciliation and accommodation.

“The feeling that we can go all alone or that we do not need particular interest groups within the PDP family, I do not buy that. Everybody and every group is important. If you try to accommodate, they will know you have done your best considering the various interests to accommodate.

“So, we need reconciliation, harmonisation and we need less of arrogance of power. We must realise that things have changed. If we do not do these things then we face great danger. You recall that in 1999, our party men and women discussed the principles of accommodation and power sharing.”wp_posts