“Abba Aji’s attraction lies in the fact that he is a bridge builder among politicians of all religious and ethnic persuasion in the country, and thus will serve as a unifying force in the party, and a huge asset to President Jonathan. People know the amiable senator and gentleman as a man who is loyal to duty and to his political leaders as well as someone who can be trusted to be objective and candid, when it comes to national issues”. — Thisday Newspaper, 9th February, 2012.
Based on the above summary of the person and character of Senator Abba Aji, by a leading and authoritative newspaper in Nigeria, all things being equal, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) does not have to stress itself as its national chairmanship election approaches. It is the view of many Nigerians, both in and outside the PDP, especially the youths of the party, that Senator Abba Aji is the right man for the top job of national chairman in this crucial period of national transformation.
Senator Muhammad Abba Aji is a loyal member of the PDP who epitomises the best that the party can offer. It is noteworthy that this man who was in the Senate from 2003- 2007 and later became special adviser to two presidents on National Assembly Matters is among those angling for the exalted position of national chairman of the party.
The man is a progressive- minded politician and technocrat, who, like President Jonathan, would be a breath of fresh air compared to what the party has had of recent.
One thinks that he will complement the president handsomely and given the opportunity to serve the party, he will take the PDP to new heights. An accommodating and intelligent man who takes time to make those around him feel comfortable, the PDP will enter a new and glorious era with his emergence as national chairman.
In view of the mature and non- controversial way he managed his job as special adviser on National Assembly Matters at a difficult time in our history, Senator Abba Aji is the sort of leader suitable for any political party that wants to avoid incessant conflict and manage one when it breaks out.
The senator from Borno State is one man who seldom seeks the limelight for the sake of it and does not join issues with people if such issues will in any way create tension and bad blood. For this reason, when even people say things that are untrue and which affect his office, he allows them to; knowing that the truth will always show itself at the right time.
As a peace- loving man, mobiliser and party builder, Abba Aji is capable of expanding the membership of the party beyond what it is today through good works and creating a conducive atmosphere that will allow the members to blossom and flourish. He is just the man that the PDP, the largest party in Africa’s most populous country, needs at this time.
Abba Aji is a bundle of experience garnered over three and a half decades of dedicated work in the civil service, the organised private sector and active politics, qualities which should stand him in good stead as the national chairman of Nigeria’s ruling party.
More importantly, Abba Aji is loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan. At a time when most political office holders and public officials were unsure of what to do about the emergence of President Jonathan, who was then acting President, Senator Abba Aji confidently stood behind the candidature of Jonathan.
Abba Aji went on to found and fund the pro- Jonathan group, Friends of Democracy (FOD), to work for the emergence of President Jonathan as President and Commander- in- Chief in the keenly-contested 2011 national elections. The Friends of Democracy, later fused with other pro- Jonathan organisations, to become the Jonathan- Sambo Campaign Support Group, the rest is history.
Based on the above, and his many other qualities, which include his tolerant and detribalised nature, the youths of our great party, want no other person than Senator Abba Aji to manage the affairs of the party.
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—? Ajayi is national coordinator, Association of Youths in Politics, based in Ibadan