Former Commissioner for Water Resources, Honorable Edward Percy Masha, who served under former Kaduna State Governor Ahmed Makarfi, has announced his bid for the Chairmanship position of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
In an exclusive interview with Arewa PUNCH, Masha stated that he aims to revitalize and reform the party to ensure its success in future elections.
“My contest is a clarion call across the state, by stakeholders of the party, individuals, groups, and social media platforms asking me to throw my hat into the ring for the contest,” Masha said.
He emphasized that his emergence would herald a new era focused on restructuring and revisiting the party’s core values and ideology to create a more effective and durable political environment in the state.
“I visited my Ward, Local Government, Zone, party officials, and the elders of the Party to inform them of my vision should the caucus of the party zone the Chairmanship to zone three, where I, Edward Percy Masha, would like to contest,” he added.
“After due consultations, I strongly feel I should hearken to the voice of my people, and I cannot pretend I didn’t hear them very well,” Masha stressed.
Masha highlighted that one of his administration’s priorities would be to provide opportunities for young people and women to actively participate in the party.
“We won’t restrict women to just women leadership slots. We’ll create a platform for them to operate and occupy,” he declared.
Insisting that only youths should contest this time, he argued that the contest should be open to all who have something to offer, regardless of age or status.
“Many of us are advocates of youth inclusiveness. I became a commissioner at the age of 34, Sen. Nenadi became a minister at the age of 35, at that time most members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly were less than 32 years old, so, the PDP is a party that is youth-friendly,” he explained.
He encouraged young people to come forward and showcase their abilities, stating, “We can’t throw away merit and capacity and when you have it you’ll be given the chance.”
Regarding the recent defections of some party members, Masha expressed confidence that these defections would not affect the party’s chances in the 2023 elections.
“Disagreement and agreement are ingredients of politics. I disagree with you if you say you want to eat rice in the morning and I say I want to eat beans,” he said.
He acknowledged the internal wranglings within political parties but stressed the importance of managing these issues maturely.
“There are internal wranglings in all political parties, but the way and manner you manage those issues tells how mature you are in this game of politics, so PDP can do better,” he stated.
Masha pledged to reach out to party members who have become disenchanted, as well as those who may have supported other candidates but are still valuable to the party.
“We’ll reach out to them so that they become active, and those who must have supported a different candidate but at a different position and didn’t win, and as such decided to withdraw, we’ll also reach out to them,” he concluded.