Sen. Jonah Jang, former Plateau governor, on Tuesday in Jos joined the race for the PDP presidential ticket ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Jang, while submitting his letter of interest at the state secretariat, opined that the ticket should be zoned to the North-Central geo-political zone “in the interest of equity and fairness”.
He argued that the zone had been the belt that tied Nigerians together over time, declaring that he was “the face of that middle belt in the presidential contest”.
Jang regretted that the zone had yet to produce an elected president, saying that his election would end that injustice.
He said that Nigeria was becoming increasingly divided along various lines, and blamed the nation’s enormous security challenges on inherent injustices.
“My innate desire is to rescue Nigeria from the brim of collapse; I want to restore our greatness by building a nation we shall all be proud of,” he said.
Jang promised to make peace and security his major focus if elected, adding that he would build the economy and end the current situation where Nigeria had been turned into a dump site.
He also promised to take a closer look at calls for restructuring of the country to ensure justice for all segments of the population.
Jang promised to tackle impunity and criminality, and vowed to apprehend gunmen that had made life so cheap.
The former governor, who represents Plateau North in the senate, promised to strengthen anti-graft agencies to fight corruption within the confines of the rule of law.
Jang’s opponents for the ticket include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, and the former governors of Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Jigawa States – Ahmed Makarfi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Attahiru Bafarawa and Sule Lamido.
Others include the incumbent governors of Sokoto and Gombe States, Aminu Tambuwal and Dankwambo. (NAN)
