The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State has presented its candidates for the State House of Assembly elections to the party’s State Executive Committee (SEC) for formal endorsement and blessings.
The presentation was made on Monday at the party’s SEC meeting attended by stakeholders from the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The state PDP Chairman, Mr Edward Fashi-Masha, said the presentation of the candidates to the SEC was a formal process aimed at introducing them to the party and the people of the state.
“Once you do that to SEC, you’ve done that to everybody in the state, not only the PDP members, even those who are not members of the PDP,” he said.
Fashi-Masha said the party was committed to presenting candidates capable of representing the interests of the people at the state legislature.
The chairman also expressed concern over what he described as the neglect of education and health sectors by the Kaduna State Government.
He said an examination of the state budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 would show that the two sectors had not received adequate attention.
“Go through the budgets of 2024, 2025 and 2026, you will discover that education and health have been neglected.
“You hardly get where 20 or 25 per cent of the money budgeted is released,” he said.
He particularly expressed concern over the funding of Kaduna State University (KASU), questioning the amount budgeted for the institution and the funds released for its infrastructure and other obligations.
Fashi-Masha said the party fully supported concerns raised by its governorship candidate, Mr Shehu Usman, over the alleged neglect of the education sector.
He said the issue would form part of the party’s communique to be issued after the meeting, particularly with regard to KASU and other tertiary institutions in the state.
“The records are there. Anybody who wants to challenge us, challenge us with records. We will tell you exactly what it is,” he said.
The chairman also dismissed the existence of factions within the Kaduna PDP, saying the state chapter remained united.
“Kaduna State is a special state. From the beginning, we have identified that we are going with PDP. We do not belong to faction A or faction B. It is one family,” he said.
According to him, the state chapter has one chairman and operates as one family from the ward level through the local government areas to the state level.
He said the party had resolved to remain with the PDP because of its strong connection with the people at the grassroots.
“Our people have been enriched and empowered by PDP. So they will not discard PDP,” he said.
Fashi-Masha said the party would work toward re-enacting the spirit of the PDP and reconnecting with the people across the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting was attended by the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Shehu Usman, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Usman Ibrahim, and other top PDP members, as well as party stakeholders from the 23 LGAs. (NAN)(NAN)
