WHY I AM SEEKING TO LEAD TARABA STATE

By Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya

I am not a product of political appointments alone. I am not a candidate of outsiders or non-Tarabans who are out to hijack our commonwealth. I did not wake up yesterday and decide that I want to govern Taraba State.

For more than three decades, I have walked the political road with the people of this state.

MY POLITICAL JOURNEY

1992–1993

I was elected as a pioneer member of the Taraba State House of Assembly to represent Wukari 11 constituency.

1999–2003

In 1999, I was again elected by the good people of Wukari II to represent them at the Taraba State House of Assembly, serving from 1999 to 2003.

2003–2007

In 2003, I was elected by the good people of Ibi/Wukari Federal Constituency to represent them in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007.

2007–2011

I was elected Senator representing Taraba South Senatorial District from 2007 to 2011.

POLITICAL APPOINTMENT

Through the instrumentality of our dear father and elder statesman, General T.Y. Danjuma, I was appointed to serve the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Minister of Labour and Productivity.

I have therefore seen government from the inside. I have participated in legislations. I have represented communities. I have served in the Federal Executive Council.

I understand the enormous responsibility /responsibilities that come with the office of the governor of a state, and that is why I am asking the people of Taraba to entrust their future to my leadership.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

1. Adigbendo Primary School in Nwokyo under the defunct Matar Fada Local Government in Wukari Local Government area—1976–1982
2. St Paul Secondary school now Government Secondary School, Wukari — 1982–1987
3. University of Calabar —Diploma in Business Administration studies-1999–2001
4. Federal University of Technology, Yola — Advanced Diploma in Public Administration, 2001–2002
5. Federal University of Technology, Yola — Degree,Business Management, 2008–2013
6. Nasarawa State University, Keffi — Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Business Administration, 2020–2021
7. Nasarawa State University — Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Management, 2021–2023
8. Nasarawa State University, Security and strategic studies( PHD in View)

I HAVE A RECORD TO DEFEND

Politics is not merely about what a politician promises.

Politics is also about what he has done.

During my years in the National Assembly, I pursued constituency projects intended to improve the lives of the people I represented.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

The Wukari–Chanchanji Road remains one of the projects that people continue to identify with during my period of service.

HEALTH

In the health sector, I facilitated and constructed the following constituency projects:

• Fikyu Health Centre in Ussa Local Government Area;
• Dampar Healthcare Centre in Ibi Local Government Area; and
• Nwokyo Healthcare Centre in Wukari Local Government Area.

WATER

I facilitated the provision of boreholes both manual and motorized boreholes across the five local government areas in my constituency.

EDUCATION

I facilitated the construction of classrooms across the five local government areas.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

I brought Export Processing Centre and Industrial Development Centre in Wukari, opposite the Federal Government College, Wukari.

These constituency projects were intended to create jobs and reduce unemployment among my senatorial constituents. The projects have now been abandoned after my tenure.

There are many other projects too numerous to mention.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I am proud of the fact that projects executed under my representation were intended to serve the people rather than to enrich myself or political contractors who might fail to execute the projects as expected.

I am not into politics to enrich myself or connive with political contractors to ensure that my constituency projects are not executed or that public funds are diverted for my personal use.

I have never been called by the EFCC, ICPC or any anti-corruption agency to defend my constituency projects.

I am into politics to serve.

And I challenge anyone who says otherwise to bring forward any petition or invitation letter from any anti-corruption agency arising from my constituency projects.

THE EFCC MATTER

There has been an attempt by political opponents to use the EFCC matter involving me as a political weapon.

I will not run from the fact that I was investigated.

I was part of the nationwide investigation, prosecution and persecution of PDP ministers by the APC government in 2015 in connection with allegations concerning N450 million in presidential campaign funds during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The case went before the Federal High Court in Jalingo.

The court vindicated me.

The case was challenged further, and I continued to defend my name and integrity through the judicial process, from the Court of Appeal in Yola to the Supreme Court, where I was also vindicated.

The lesson is simple:

An allegation is not a conviction.

I have never been convicted.

I have no corruption case or cases hanging against me anywhere.

When Nigerians talk about integrity, therefore, I believe the proper thing is to examine the record and allow the records of integrity and honesty to speak, rather than allow political propaganda.

TARABA MUST NOT BE GOVERNED FROM OUTSIDE BY NON TARABANS

Today, another question confronts our people:

Who should decide who becomes governor of Taraba?

The indigenes of Taraba State—or political interests of non-Tarabans outside the state?

I have watched with concern as some people attempt to present their aspirants as the inevitable candidates because, according to the political narrative being pushed around, certain powerful interests outside Taraba have already made their choice.

Let me be clear:

Taraba is not a political estate belonging to anybody who is not from Taraba State.

Our people and elders are capable of choosing their governor.

No external godfather, no foreign political cabal or foreign power broker should believe that the people of Taraba can simply be handed a candidate and instructed to vote for him.

I reject that politics.

I believe in the people.

I believe in the democratic process.

And I believe that the next governor of Taraba must emerge from the will of Tarabans, not from non indegenes.

MY POLITICAL OPPONENTS SHOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR OWN RECORDS

Let me make my position clear.

I do not sit in judgment over anybody. The courts should determine guilt or innocence.

But if a politician is facing corruption allegations or legal scrutiny, he should not attempt to escape public accountability. He should allow the process to clear him.

The same standard that applies to me must apply to everyone.

Let every candidate open his record to public scrutiny.

Let us examine our records in government.

Let us examine our dealings with public institutions.

Let us examine the allegations against us.

Let us examine the outcomes of every case or cases.

And let the people decide.

WHO AM I REALLY WORKING FOR?

There is another question I believe the people of Taraba State deserve an answer to.

I belong to the authentic PDP.

I say this because politics is about loyalty, principles and consistency.

If I belong to a political party and that party has a presidential candidate, I will support him or her.

That is the politics that I believe in.

I cannot be a PDP politician in the morning and become an APC campaigner at night simply because I believe that proximity to those in power will protect me from the consequences of my past.

As was said by a former chairman of the APC,

“Anyone that joins APC, your sins are forgiven.”

Political ambition should never be built on the hope of escaping accountability.

If there are allegations against you, face them.

If there are questions about your records, answer them.

If the courts have questions for you, appear before the courts.

Do not imagine that divided loyalty to political allegiance can erase your past records.

I AM NOBODY’S PUPPET

Perhaps the greatest difference between myself and some of the people seeking to lead Taraba is that I owe my political existence to God alone.

I am not anybody’s puppet.

I have served in the State House of Assembly.

I have served in the House of Representatives.

I have served in the Senate.

I have served as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I have survived different political seasons.

I have faced political attacks.

I have faced investigations, prosecution and persecution.

And I have stood before the courts to defend my name and integrity.

I have emerged from those battles with my name and integrity intact.

So I do not need to play double loyalty to political parties in Nigeria to secure protection.

My only Godfather is God Almighty.

I WILL NOT SELL TARABA STATE

Taraba does not need a governor who will receive instructions from non-indigenes of the state.

Taraba needs a governor who will sit with his people, listen to them and defend their interests.

We need a government that will make agriculture productive.

We need roads that connect our communities.

We need industries that create jobs.

We need education that gives our children a future.

We need healthcare that does not condemn poor people to preventable diseases and deaths.

We need security that protects farmers, businesses, traders and families.

We need a government that will manage public resources transparently.

We need a leader who will make people the priority, and not money.

Above all, we need leadership that understands that government belongs to the people.

I will not mortgage Taraba State for political survival.

I will not exchange the interests of Tarabans for personal ambition.

I will not become a governor who takes instructions from outsiders who are not indigenes and who are only interested in Taraba State’s resources and commonwealth.

MY MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF TARABA STATE

I am not asking you to support me because I have the loudest voice.

I am asking you to look at my records.

Look at where I started.

Look at where I have served.

Look at what I have done.

Look at how I have conducted myself.

And then compare my records with those asking you for your support and votes.

The choice before us is bigger than Joel Ikenya.

It is bigger than any other candidates.

It is bigger than PDP or APC and any other political party in Taraba state.

It is about whether Taraba will continue to face developmental challenges or whether Tarabans will insist that the people must choose their own leader.

I stand before you as a man who has served.

I stand before you as a man who has been tested.

I stand before you as a man who has faced the courts and defended his name and integrity.

And I stand before you as a man who does not need a political outsider to tell him what is right for Taraba.

I am Joel Danlami Ikenya.

I am not a candidate of external interests.

I am not anybody’s puppet.

I am not seeking power to protect myself from the law.

I am seeking the mandate of the people to serve Taraba State.

And when the time comes, I believe the people of Taraba will make their choice.

Not outsiders.

Not the godfathers.

Not the cabals.

The people.

Taraba belongs to Tarabans.

And the future of Taraba must be decided by Tarabans.

God bless you all.