Date: 2021-12-07

Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged former Senate President Bukola Saraki to contest for president in 2023.

The chapter said it has abided by the decision of the North Central to endorse him as a consensus candidate.

Members of the North Central Presidency Agenda, led by former Governor Mohammad Shaba Lafiagi, visited Ilorin, the state capital at the weekend.

Lafiagi said there was a consensus agreement among North Central states that Saraki should contest.

He also said that the advocacy visits to states in the North Central zone had yielded fruits in favour of Senator Saraki's candidature.

Senator Lafiagi added that some PDP members pledged not to work for any other presidential aspirant except Saraki.

Also, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje said that antecedents of Senator Saraki as two-term goverrnor and a Senate President had given him the edge among all others.

Baraje, ex-national chair of PDP, said: "We are out advocating for a single ticket of the North Central zone of the PDP for our own Senator Saraki. We have toured all the states in the zone and Kwara is the last state to visit in the zone. We now have the agreement that the North Central will have one candidate come 2023 for the presidential election in PDP.

"Everyone cannot be fooled. So, for all the states in the zone to have picked Senator Bukola Saraki as sole PDP presidential candidate for 2023 elections, it shows that they know the quality he's made of. Not only that Saraki had been a two-term governor of Kwara state and we all know that the development activities put in place while in office are the ones still there in the state.

"Also, he has been Senator and Senate President fighting for the masses of this country. It's no longer news. Everyone knows that. He was ensuring that due process was followed. Not only that, he was the one telling the truth to the executive. Telling how things should be. He didn't lead a rubber-stamp Senate. We all can compare his own term with what's happening now. These are some of the things people have seen in him making them to back him".

Baraje added: "Other North Central states had always come to us for assistance before now and we had always given them the assistance and support. Now, we have come out and we're seeking their own support too".

The PDP chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Mohammed, said the PDP is behind Saraki to realize the dream.

"Come 2023, we'll win back Kwara state and get presidential ticket to Saraki and win North Central for PDP come 2023", he added.