The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said he is backing the presidential ambition of a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, saying he won’t back any of the aspirants from the North.

Lalong made the declaration in Jos when Amaechi was in the state to woo delegates in the state ahead of the party’s primaries.

Lalong said Amaechi had contributed immensely to the state in no small measure and would receive full support from Plateau leaders, including former Speakers of the House of Assembly, and current state lawmakers.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday, Lalong was quoted as saying, “Amaechi has all the qualities of a good leader, and would save the country from its insecurity problems, as well as bring development to all parts of the country, adding that Plateau State has benefited a lot from Amaechi and it’s payback time.’’

Lalong stressed that Amaechi had all it takes to tackle insecurity in the country. He said Ameachi had relationships with the security experts and the former security chiefs and would engage them.

He recalled that Ameachi helped party chieftains in the northern states, especially Plateau State, to join and register with the APC. He also said that the former minister spoke for the state at the Federal Executive Council meetings whenever it needed the urgent intervention and approvals from the Presidency.

“Sir, you invested in Plateau State, that is why you are going to reap in Plateau State. We came back, we had security issues, you were our minister. For most of the approvals you saw from the President, it was this man (Amaechi) that was pushing for us. Amaechi was our minister, not minding that he is from Rivers State. We got almost everything.”

Lalong disclosed that he received ample support for his re-election bid from Ameachi, He also said “They mentioned railway, but you brought Shipper’s Council to us, you restored our inland container to us, so many things that you did. As I’m talking, the first set of people you took to China, seven of them are Plateau boys, and very soon they are coming back as experts in engineering. We can go on and on.

“We had already taken a decision; all former members of the Houses of Assembly decided that wherever you go, we would follow you. So, if you calculate the number of former Speakers that we have in Nigeria, I think you already have 30 percent votes,” he said.

Also, the Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Yakubu Sande, declared bloc support for Amaechi.

“I have the privilege to move this historic motion and say categorically, that members of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Areas, we have super delegates and national delegates, all represented today, and what I’m doing today is an endorsement by the delegates of Plateau State,” Sande said.

Former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that he is more experienced than any presidential aspirant in Nigeria, especially because he came from a very low background.

Amaechi made the statement when he met with delegates of the APC in Niger State on Thursday ahead of the party’s primary elections, saying that he could easily connect with the poor as he used to, and still, eat ‘garri’ three times a day.

The former minister stated that, apart from his vast experience, having served and delivered as Speaker, Governor, Minister, and Director-General of two successful presidential campaigns, there existed a difference between him and other aspirants, a fact that he was a better-experienced politician and a people-person.

“Another difference between me and them is that I am a politician, they’re not. The difference is that I can walk to you and I’ll talk, discuss with you.

He added that his humble background had allowed him to understand the plight of the common person and relate easily with them.

“I can connect easily with the people. I wasn’t born into a rich family. My father was a poor man, and the only English my mother knows how to speak in pidgin English. I ate garri three times a day, and I still eat garri three times a day till today, so I know poverty”, he said.

He told the people of Niger that he understood their problem of insecurity therefore he had an idea of the problem bedeviling the state.

“I know what you’re suffering, I was governor of Rivers State when they were kidnapping two months old children, and I never slept until everybody slept.

“But in six months, we brought down insecurity in Rivers State,” Amaechi said.

He opined that now is the time for the people of the North and all Nigerians to stand by him, as he did for the country when he supported the emergence of President Buhari, Muhammadu Buhari, without looking at whether he was from the North or South.

“When everybody was fighting me, saying ‘he’s supporting a northern candidate, he’s supporting a Hausa/Fulani candidate,’ I remained steadfast that I was supporting a Nigerian candidate. Now it’s your turn to,” he said.

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, in Rivers State, has said despite the number of aspirants vying for the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket, they must be willing to rally around and support whoever emerges candidate in the forthcoming primary elections.

This was as he said there was no need for hostility among aspirants as the ultimate goal remained the country’s unity.

According to a statement signed on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo spoke in Rivers in continuation of his nationwide consultations with stakeholders and delegates of the APC.

The statement was titled ‘APC has greatest potential to do the best for Nigeria, says Osinbajo in rivers.’

In his call for unity, the Vice President noted that all the aspirants that had made public, their intention to run for president under the APC, were progressives.

He said, “We are all progressives, we represent the same point of view that this country can be better; that we can improve the fortunes of our young people; that our country can be a great place. Every one of us has that desire, and every one of us can achieve that, given the chance.

“Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve pointed out that there is no need for conflict of any kind, especially among presidential aspirants. All of us, who are presidential aspirants, have either worked together or eaten together in one place or the other. We are aspirants today, but only one person would emerge, and we must be prepared to work with that person.”

According to him, the best aspirant should be chosen to lead the party as its presidential candidate in 2023.

The Vice President also noted that the governing APC had the greatest potential to do the best for Nigeria and ensure its further development and progress.

“We are also, of course, completely at one on the idea that the party needs to be united. So, everything that needs to be done is being done and will be done to ensure the unity of the aspirants.

“Our party is, as you know, not just the ruling party, but the party that has the greatest potential to do the best for this country,” he noted.

With regards to his consultations with the delegates, Prof. Osinbajo disclosed that “What we spent our time doing today was talking more about national issues, about issues of development; and we all affirm that we have to do a lot of work; we are willing and able to do the work.”

Before his interaction with the APC delegates and stakeholders in Rivers, the Vice President had paid a courtesy to the Rivers State Traditional Council led by the King Jaja of Opobo, Dr. Dandeson Jaja, Jeki V, Natural Ruler, Amanyanabo of the Opobo Kingdom, who is also the Chairman of the Council.

Informing the monarchs of his aspiration to run for president, he said, “Our country is at a critical phase in its existence and every country faces its challenges. Our country is facing some of the biggest challenges it has ever faced.

“This current administration has faced more security challenges than any other administration. But I am confident that, not only will we be able to tackle the challenges today, we will be able to tackle the challenges of the future.”

In his remarks, King Jaja of Opobo thanked the Vice President for his “good wishes” and for sending a representative to his 80th birthday celebration saying “That was very kind of you. Let us campaign in peace and let us not add to the challenges that we are going through already.”