Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare, the former Executive Director of First Bank PLC, has defected from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He declared his governorship ambition in Zamfara State on the platform of the PDP.
He described the APC-led government as a failure both in the state and at the national level, saying that it was tired and faltering.
Dare, who was met by his throngs of supporters at the state border between Zamfara and Katsina, was later met by the party’s leadership in the state.
Colonel Bala Mande, the State PDP Chairman, praised him for his boldness in joining the party and assured him that everyone in the party, old and new, would be treated equally.
Mande went on to say that the PDP was ready to reclaim the mandate it had lost to the APC, both in the state and at the national level.
Dare told his supporters at his Gusau residence that he decided to run for governor because of the security and economic challenges that the entire North-West State is facing.
“I joined the race for a rescue mission to salvage the people of the State. I have made a lot of consultations with security and economic experts before I made the decision,” he added.
“We all are very much aware that when Zamfara was a Local Government Area under the old Sokoto State, the security organization was better than what we are witnessing now in the State.
“It is no longer news that Zamfara is the worst State in the federation considering the insecurity situation and no one can doubt this fact,” he said.
The governorship aspirant said that it was a statement of fact that none of Zamfara State indigenes can write WAEC and NECO examinations due to banditry activities ravaging the State.
Dare further stressed that the State government closed all public and private schools for more than nine months, forcing innocent students to be roaming the streets aimlessly.
“Our farmers can no longer participate in their farming activities because there is no political will to end all these acts,” he lamented.