By Kingsley Okoye
The National Union of Blacksmith and Thinkers Workers of Nigeria (NUBTWN), has endorsed the presidential bid of Sen. Bola Tinubu in the Feb. 25 general elections.
National Secretary of the union, Alhaji Ishaku Kontagorah, announced the endorsement at a forum in Abuja on Monday.
The forum, attended by blacksmiths across the 19 northern states, was organised by project 774, a National Support Group for Tinubu’s presidency.
He said given the current development and support by the current government, the union was endorsing the candidacy of Tinubu for the presidential election.
He said the endorsement would ensure the APC government continued the good work started by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said members of the union, who were blacksmiths and thinkers across the nation, were satisfied with antecedent of Tinubu and his agenda for Nigeria, especially his plan for a bottom up approach of development.
The National Coordinator of Project 774, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, said project 774 was designed to mobilise grassroots support for politics, to positively affect the local people.
According to him, project 774 for Tinubu and Shettima, which is a national grass roots support group, was designed to mobilise grassroots support for Tinubu and Shettima.
Abdullahi expressed gratitude to members of the union for making the endorsement possible.
“We believe that the project 774 should be local, it should be bottom up and our hope is to make sure we get to those who are affected with whatever we do in our government.”
He explained he had course to engage with the blacksmiths and thinkers union through his empowerment scheme as Representative of Niger-North in the Senate.
Abdullahi said Nigeria and most part of the north were reputed for agriculture, adding that bulk of the rural populace, who engaged in agriculture, could not do so without the tools produced by the blacksmiths.
“There is no village or market that you go to, that you will not see the blacksmith or the Thinkers.
“This group of people represents a part of our agriculture heritage and this informed their desire to stand with our presidential candidate, Sen. Tinubu.
“He has shown tremendous interest in the development of this nation, and he does that via bottom top development process.”
He said Tinubu had demonstrated his bottom up development approach with what he had done in Lagos State, adding that his running mate, Shettima had also shown knack to bring development from the bottom up approach.
Abdullahi said the group coming to endorse the candidature of Tinubu was significant because they were in every single village and town across Nigeria.
“This group we have here that are also in all the northern Nigeria, is a force that we cannot ignore on any way.
“So I thank you all from the 19 northern states for coming, if Nigeria is to succeed we cannot underrate your role in agriculture.
“This group has the skill to contribute and when they have been upgraded, as we have done in the empowerment scheme I did.
“They have a lot to contribute in developing new tools and supporting farmer’s production capacity with the tools.”
Abdullahi said Tinubu’s presidency would be inclusive and bottom to up.
The union was established in 1987 to improve standard of its production from old method to new technology, to meet the demand of the nation.
The association has more than 4 million members in Nigeria, with experience in production of cutlasses, planting machines, holes, harrowing tools, fertiliser application machines, among other simple implements. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Abiemwense Moru/Idris Abdulrahman
