Garba Umar, a former Acting Governor in Taraba, on Wednesday declared his intention to contest in the 2019 governorship election in the state.
The former acting governor, popularly called UTC, made the declaration in Jalingo when he visited the secretariat of state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umar said that he was joining the race to change the incumbent government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The aspirant promised that he would consolidate on his achievements when he was the acting governor if he gained the party’s nomination and won the governorship election.
“For the two years that I was the acting governor, I executed 24 projects and paid over N1 billion as gratuities. This is just to mention a few,” Umar said.
He, however, said that he was ready to support any candidate that won the party’s primary provided due process was strictly followed throughout the exercise.
“As I said earlier, my main objective is to change bad leadership. Therefore, whoever emerges the flag bearer of the party, I will support him if due process is followed,” the aspirant said.
Umar advised the party’s leadership to give all aspirants a level playing field, warning that showing favoritism to a candidate could spell doom for the party.
Responding, the state APC Deputy Chairman, John Maigari, said that Umar was a household name in the state politics, having made his mark as a former acting governor.
He assured the aspirant that the party would give equal opportunities to every aspirant willing and ready to contest for any position.
