Mr Ibrahim Sani Shawai, the spokesman to the Gombe State APC gubernatorial candidate, Dr Jamil Isyaku Gwamna has welcomed the call for an open debate among candidates seeking to govern the state, saying his principal is ready to participate “any day, any time.”
Shawai, in a statement, said any candidate calling for the debate should set the stage, assuring that Gwamna would be available to engage other contenders on issues concerning the development of Gombe State.
He, however, said the debate should go beyond rhetoric, accusations and campaign propaganda, arguing that leadership should be assessed through experience, capacity, relationships, records and measurable results.
“Leadership is bigger than a debate, endless talk, baseless accusations, lies and propaganda. Politics and governance are not an endless contest of words. Leadership is about people, relationships, capacity, experience, institutions and results,” Shawai said.
According to him, Gwamna has spent more than two decades building relationships across Gombe State and beyond, investing in people, creating opportunities and developing political and professional networks across the public and private sectors.
Shawai said the proposed debate should provide an opportunity for candidates to present their records and explain what they have achieved with opportunities previously available to them.
He said issues such as human capital development, employment, education, healthcare, agriculture, water, infrastructure, investment, industrialisation, youth and women empowerment should form part of the debate.
The spokesman specifically challenged other candidates aspiring to govern the state to discuss what he described as over 1,800 employment opportunities created for Gombe indigenes at KEDCO and KAEDCO, as well as more than 1000 employment opportunities at the Gombe State Water Board.
He also listed local and foreign scholarships, capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and youth and women empowerment interventions among areas he said should be subjected to public scrutiny.
Shawai said Gwamna’s development agenda is anchored on continuity, sustainability, consolidation and expansion of Gov Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State development success recorded in the state.
He noted that Gombe State already has a 10-year development framework under Governor Yahaya, arguing that a change of administration should not automatically lead to the abandonment of the existing development programmes and projects.
Shawai maintained that the government should be viewed as a continuum, stressing that development requires sustained policies rather than repeated cycles of abandonment and restarting.
He challenged other candidates to come to any debate with verifiable records rather than relying solely on promises.
“Let us put the records on the table. Let us debate records, not rhetoric; impact, not propaganda; people, not promises,” he said.
The spokesman reiterated that Gwamna is ready to participate in the proposed debate, saying the APC candidate would be prepared to discuss his record, vision and plans for the future of Gombe State.
“Dr Jamil Isyaku Gwamna is ready. Any day. Any time,” Shawai said.
He added that the ultimate measure of leadership should include what an aspirant has built, the people developed, relationships nurtured and capacity demonstrated to deliver on future responsibilities.