Gentlemen of the Press,Today marks yet another milestone in the history of our nascent democracy and democratic processes. The change of baton from a civilian to another civilian administration is a landmark which will be attained peacefully, orderly and democratically come 2007 by the grace of Allah. The processes leading to this handing over is gradually progressing and the party candidates have been chosen at all levels of the party in order to exercise their democratic as well as fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999). Suffice it to state that our great Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has provided the level playing field for the actualization of each and every person's aspiration provided it is within the ambit of the rule of law. The peoples belief in the system and in ensuring the continuity of programmes of this current administration of His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the people of Kaduna State set out to find another successor who will continue and in fact add value to the laudable programmes he has initiated and executed in Kaduna State for which the good people of the State are forever very grateful. A well structured programme of action has been articulated and will be implemented to the letter when the people eventually give us their mandate in the General Elections in April, 2007. Gentlemen of the Press,As we march into the 2007 election amidst enthusiasm about the sustainability of reforms and policy continuity, the Peoples Democratic Party on its quest to continue to provide focused leadership at all levels of governance sets forth some qualities that the party and electorates would look out for amongst candidates. These qualities are in addition to the existing constitutional requirements that candidates must satisfy to qualify for electoral office. The basic concept is to carefully look at those positive traits that are constant and imperative for nation building and modernization of the Economy. To this end PDP in furtherance of its agenda setting role seek to identify qualities that an elected official should possess to be able to lead at various cadres. These qualities which are stated under two broad headlines are general as well as specific. The general qualities includes patriotism, integrity, ethno-neutral, rule-driven tolerance, transparency-driven, knowledge-driven, community / constituency service and leadership. Specifically candidates for the office of the Governor must have demonstrable.

• High level of intergrity and evidence of personal discipline.
• Courage of conviction
• High degree of loyalty to the Nigerian State consistent and verifiable means of livelihood.
• Experience in management of men and materials in public.
• Knowledge of the working of the private sector.
• Good knowledge of Nigeria political economic and social environment.
• Tolerance, especially religious.
• Respect for rule of law.
• Respect for human rights.
• Belief in popular participation and consultation.
• Knowledge and understanding of the working of the international system.
• Loyalty and commitment to the party.
• Voluntary service to the community.
• Wholesome track record
• Competence in concept and tools of development.
• Respect for African values and Cherished traditions.

Gentlemen of the press you will agree with me that having perused my resume thoroughly which I made available to you, it will not be out of place of we draw inference that we have satisfied all these requirements and even more and that we are poised to consolidate on the gains of the process and platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming April elections. When we coast into victory in April which by the grace of Allah I still remain the man to beat, and eventually sworn-in in May we shall pursue vigorously the PDP manifestos which shall be our guiding principle. We shall embrace the indivisibility of the Nigerian polity in our actions utterances and deed, we shall uphold the supremacy of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the independence of the judiciary and operation of the rule of law and shall ensure the sanctity of Human Dignity. As our guide, we shall pursue our manifesto and shall implement the contents especially as it affects the directive principles and policy measures of the party which are hinged on: i) Democracy and good governanceii) Freedom, human rights and dignityiii) Justice, Equity, Popular participation, inclusiveness and the rule of law.iv) Integrity, transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs.v) Sustainable development through the creation of an enabling environment for a private sector led development.vi) Follow the political objective as enunciated in the PDP manifesto on good governance, the economy, the judiciary and administration of justice. A popular maximum has it that "who the cap fits let him wear it" I believe I have the public office experience and the private sector drive to be able to harness them for the benefit of the good people of our dear State. Our focus is both in continuity of programmes and new initiatives in order to add value to the programme of the outgoing administration of Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi and initiate our own brand whose mixture shall produce ripple positive effect to the citizenry. Therefore, in addition to these outlined party guidelines, a well structured programme of action has been articulated and will be implemented to the letter when the people eventually give us their mandate in the general elections in April 2007.For the continuance of peace, stability and even development we are resolute in our determination to provide the followings: ► Security for peace and development► Free Primary Education and general developmentof the education sector► Intensive Agricultural Development► Poverty Alleviation► Youths Empowerment► Infrastructural Development► Improved Health Care Delivery► Industrial Regeneration (cottage and urban industries)► Provision of Housing for all, particularly the low income Earners and the Civil Servants► Transformation of our Rural Areas to modern standards► Improved welfare package for all workers and pensioners EDUCATIONWe shall provide free Primary Education to all the citizenry in the State and shall add value to what the present Administration has achieved in the area of Secondary Education. Parents shall pay school fees according to their earned income. We shall also provide scholarship for professional courses in special educational institutions to our deserving students. We shall enhance and consolidate on the current efforts of Government on students at our tertiary institutions of learning both in the State and other parts of the country in general. We shall establish technical training institutions deliberately to support our planned industrialization. IMPROVED HEALTH CARE DELIVERYIn order to improve the health care delivery system in the State, we shall add value to the good health care delivery services that have been established by this Government. We shall ensure that there are more Primary and Secondary Health Care facilities spread all over the State for the benefit of our citizens. We shall also evolve a system of producing Doctors that will meet the level of at least one doctor to every one hundred persons as recommended by the United Nation. Major health care specialist diagnostic centres shall be established in each Senatorial District of the State with the provision of a major General Hospital facility in the State capital with a deliberate attempt to arrest the outflow of our patient traveling out of the country seeking for good health facilities. INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTIn our quest to impact positively on the lives of the people of the State we shall continue with the provision of infrastructures that will increase the socio-economic position of the citizens of Kaduna State. This will consist of additional inter-town roads cutting across various villages, which will assist in the movement of our Agricultural products and other Economic transactions. We shall also continue with the provision of portable water supply to our teeming population. We will distribute electricity (Power) to all towns and villages in the State. In order to arrest the continued problem of power outages we shall establish power generation plants in the State. We strongly believe this will re-generate our industrial development and consequently improve and upgrade the socio-economic standard of the people of the State. Communication service providers shall be encouraged to extend their services to all nooks and corners of the State. To complement the efforts of this administration in the provision of road networks, we shall ensure the rehabilitation maintenance and provision of new township roads to further beautify the State and make convenient vehicular movements in our towns. AGRICULTUREIn order to improve an agricultural production, we shall ensure prompt and adequate fertilizer supply to our farmers. In this regard, a fertilizer blending plant shall be established in the State. Similarly efforts will be geared towards the provision of improved seeds to our farmers to increase the average yield of their product. Agricultural extension services shall be provided to our local farmers to acquaint them with the latest techniques and technology in farming which will further contribute towards their improved production. We shall encourage large scale farming through incentives that will motivate our large scale farmers to increase their production capacity. We shall also continue to provide extensive irrigation scheme (small and medium scale) that will allow agricultural production all year round and will provide jobs to our youths with the consequent effect of poverty alleviation in our communities. In our determination to boost agriculture, we shall encourage the establishment of agriculture based small-scale cottage industries. Our businessmen shall be provided with adequate facilities to own medium and small-scale cottage industries and other business that will improve the socio-economic position of the State. HOUSINGWe shall provide houses for low income earners and the civil servants and as well provide adequate opportunity to all the citizens to own their own houses and properties. We shall also transform our rural areas to modern standards. It is our honest believe that by a successful implementation of the above programmes we shall provide job opportunities that will lead to assured and enduring poverty alleviation and youth empowerment. GOOD GOVERNANCEWe regard honesty, transparency and accessibility as vital elements of good governance. We shall therefore operate a transparent, honest and good government which shall be anchored on the inherent ingredients of honesty, transparency and accessibility. For the achievement this noble objectives, a Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit shall be established in order to ensure adherence to Due Process Procedure in Government procurement of goods and services. We also shall operate an open door policy and shall maintain such policy at all the strata of governance within our immediate control. We shall work harmoniously with the three tiers of government to ensure judicious use of our scarce resources, and shall ensure their independence and impartiality in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. We shall operate a dialogue driven government that will reach out to the masses and shall welcome constructive criticisms that will move the state forward. We shall treat our opponents in the polls as though they were our brothers and shall give them a sense of belonging. We are not unmindful of the civil service which is the engine room with which every government works, we shall provide effective and efficient welfare packages that will motivate them to bring out their best in their official responsibilities. Pensioners dues and entitlements shall be paid as at when due and other incentives shall be initiated to improve their living standard. At this juncture I would like to state that all these activities cannot be achieved without the understanding and cooperation of the good people of Kaduna State. The continuity of the peaceful and stable situation that exists today in the State must therefore be sustained. I will therefore humbly and with all sense of responsibility urge all the electorates in the State to elect the PDP as a party and me as their Governor in the forth-coming gubernatorial elections to enable me actualize these laudable programmes. Thank you and God bless. Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo, FNIA