Exclusive: Borno speaker reacts as Governor Shettima names Professor Umara as successor

macfranc007 September 30, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Eromosele Ebhomele

- Rt Hon Abdulkarim Lawan says Governor Shettima endorsed the right choice of Professor Umara as his successor

- Speaker Lawan explains that Borno currently needs a person who can build on Shettima's dreams after devastating Boko Haram attacks

- Lawan says picking a wrong person would affect both the state and outgoing governor

The speaker of the Borno House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abdulkarim Lawan, has described the endorsement of Professor Babagana Umara as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2019 governorship in the state as one of the best things to happen ahead of the election.

Speaker Lawan told NAIJ.com, hours after Umara was endorsed by Governor Kashim Shettima as his replacement that the APC candidate would advance the course of the state and build effectively on the giant strides already recorded by the outgoing administration.

Lawan noted that having governed the state for eight years, it would just be right for Shettima to know who is best suited to carry on with the dream to make Borno state a better place.

“I am sure you have not forgotten that Borno is the most ravaged of all the states ever attacked by the Boko Haram insurgents. Apart from never having a moment’s rest for as long as I can remember, Governor Shettima remains the most troubled leader of any a state in Nigeria.

“He has spent years trying to build what was destroyed by insurgents as well as scale up the economy of my state.

“Through support from me and my colleagues at the Assembly, the governor has achieved landmark successes including in education, health and rehabilitation of residents displaced in insurgents.

“So the least that would be expected from such a governor as Shettima is ensure that the person to take over from him is one that can drive his dream and help him have the needed rest after an eight-year turmoil.

“He cannot afford to pick a wrong choice at this stage when Borno needs continuity and effectiveness in governance. That is why we are all behind him in this endorsement of Umara,” the speaker told NAIJ.com on Sunday, September 30.

Professor Umara was endorsed by the governor late Saturday, September 30, 2018 in Maiduguri while addressing all the governorship aspirants in the state.

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Speaker Lawan said it is widely held that Umara has the needed integrity and track records of achievements serving the state in various capacities.

Born in August, 1969 in Mafa local government area of the state, Umara, a former rector of Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, also became the commissioner for reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement in 2015.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that the Speaker Abdulkarim Lawan declared that the entire state will vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Lawan boasted that the current gale of defections from the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not get near the state.

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