A former member of the Senate, Kabir Garba Marara, has appealed to the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, to mend fences and join hands with President Bola Tinubu to move the country forward.
Speaking with newsmen after he met with Tinubu during the weekend, Marafa who represented Zamfara Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, noted the enormity of the problems bedeviling the country which, according to him, requires all hands to be on deck to frontally address them.
Marafa said, “My prayer and wish for them is to bury their differences and join hands with Mr President to move the country forward, especially given the problems we have across the nation.
“We need all hands on deck now. It is over. They have done what they are supposed to have done. The Constitution gives them inherent rights to challenge the victory. But with the verdict of the apex court, the battle is over.
“Like the President said, he is going to concentrate on his job without giving anybody any opportunity to distract him. So, on their part, I wish they would join hands with Mr President to move the country forward.
“When I lost the election, I congratulated the person who defeated me. I also promised that the best thing that I can give the people of Zamfara Central is to cooperate with whoever they choose to be their senator to move the zone forward. Because they elected me twice and I won convincingly in the two elections.
“So, if now somebody says I lost, I think I should accept the fact that in any game, there are winners and there are losers. Yesterday, I was the winner and today, I lost. I should accept it and move forward, tomorrow is another day.
“So, I expect also at national level for our elders to do the same. They have exhausted their rights. So, it is over. Let us now move to building Nigeria. Let us now look at the plight of the masses.”
Responding to a question on calls for a Government of National Unity, Marafa said the decision for or against the suggestion will be predicated on the body language of members of the opposition in the country.
Besides, Marafa noted that the decision is left for the President.
“I know Mr President is a politician and he knows the game very well. He is the one to decide to say, ‘now should I go ahead to form a Government of National Unity like I wanted to or having seen the behavior of the participants, I should abandon it?’
“Their behaviour from Thursday, I think, will determine what the President will do. If they take the judgement with open hearts and extend a hand of friendship to Mr President, I know the President will want to work with everybody. Governance is something that you need all hands on deck to succeed, especially in a complex country like Nigeria.”
