Akwa Ibom state governor, Udom Emmanuel and PDP presidential hopeful, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, have again condemned the unfolding political development in Benue State.

Both spoke at the Government House, Uyo recently where the governor along with members of his cabinet, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and some elders in the state played host to Turaki and his campaign team who were visiting as part of consultations ahead of the PDP presidential primary.

Governor Emmanuel described the Benue crisis as unfortunate, noting that there was no need crushing the opposition when those in power, he stressed, needed constructive criticism to avoid complacency or derailing from set target.

Turaki on his part said that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat while the unity of the country is also in danger. Some people are taking all these for granted, he lamented.

He warned that Nigerians needed to be alert and not allow the clueless APC government to continue to impact negatively on their lives and determine their future, having used the Benue State incident to destroy the general perception that the country’s democracy had become enriched and deepened.

Turaki who also blamed the APC government for being inept and unleashing despotism, poverty and insecurity on the people pointed out that the PDP government in Akwa Ibom state is working efficiently, because the leadership is well educated and knowledgeable with integrity, credibility and dynamism.

These are the attributes that the PDP should consider, he advised, in selecting its presidential candidate. “I know that the party has many qualified aspirants, but it is better to go for the best who possesses these attributes also, and that best candidate is me,” Turaki emphasized.

He promised to put in place a robust security architecture to address the pervading insecurity in the country, and also galvanize the public service to rejuvenate the economy.

He also restated his commitment to the principle of restructuring from several perspectives that will ensure equity and justice, and emphasized that his government will revisit the report of the 2014 National Political Conference of which he was a participant.

Governor Udom Emmanuel who acknowledged Turaki’s understanding of Nigeria’s developmental challenges noted that, that was a critical step in being able to address such problems.

The governor who said that the PDP parades high quality presidential aspirants pointed out that state governors in the party have decided to ensure that the party’s candidate will emerge from a free and fair primary.