PDP primaries: Hatatu-Deen steps down, gives reason

By Ihechukwu Sunday

Less than 24 hours before the presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a frontline contender to pick the party’s presidential ticket, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen has stepped down from the race.
In a letter to the party’s national Chairman, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, on Friday, May 27, Hayatu-Deen cited obscene monetization of the process as the reason behind his decision.
The aspirant who said he arrived at the decision after wide consultation promised that as a very loyal party man and believer in the democratic process, he would continue to avail himself and his teeming supporters at all times to ensure victory for the party during the general elections in 2023.
He said his interest to join the race was informed by his observation of the recent rapid deterioration of all aspects of the country’s national life as evidenced by increasing poverty, religious intolerance, banditry and kidnapping, monumental oil theft, corruption, mismanagement of national assets, communal and religious strife as well as near collapse of public services and public institutions.
This reality, he said, dawned on him during his recent nationwide trips. “I came face to face with angry and hungry youths, children, boys and girls abandoned by their states that ought to provide them with education and vocational training. These had become the recruiting grounds of criminals, religious and political extremists,” he said.
He lamented that his plan to make Nigeria the continental economic powerhouse which would guarantee high quality of life to the vast majority of our citizens has been dashed by a political system that has proven to be acrimonious, corrupt and self-serving.
Part of the letter read: “I planned to provide peace by ending insurgency of all types occasioned by the absence of a robust and coherent plan and lack of engagements with those involved and by improving the capacity of our intelligence services, the armed forces, the police and paramilitary services.
“I planned to put a final stop to the incessant closure of our universities and other public institutions due to strikes. As we speak, another round of strikes is going on and nobody knows when our public universities will be opened.
It is because of the foregoing that I found it morally compelling to introduce myself into the political space in order to provide tangible solutions to these problems. I was driven by passion and commitment to the cause of salvaging our country which is on the verge of collapse.”
He equally regretted that the consensus which would have facilitated a seamless emergence of a candidate for the party could not be achieved, even as he stressed that he did not join the presidential contest because of personal gains and inordinate ambition, but because he wanted to serve the country.
Going further, he said: “I joined the contest as a democrat, with an open mind to keenly contest and accept the result of a process that is fair, credible and transparent. It is, therefore, based on personal principles and with great humility that I have decided after wide consultations to withdraw from this contest which has been obscenely monetized.
“I wish to thank all my supporters, especially those from my state, well-wishers, friends, family, the extraordinary hardworking young men and women of our campaign organization, the party leadership and members, for their tremendous support, which enabled us to contribute within this short period towards changing the character and direction of the Nigerian political landscape.”
However, unlike Peter Obi, who walked the same path on Wednesday last week and left the party, Hayatu-Deen has promised to remain in the PDP to ensure its victory in 2023 general elections. “Finally, as a very loyal party member and believer in the democratic process, I will continue to avail myself and my teeming supporters at all times to ensure victory of our great party,” he submitted.