By David Owei,Bayelsa <\/p>\n
A 43-year-old entrepreneur, Akinaka Richard, has formally declared his ambition to contest the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District seat under the platform of the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP), positioning himself as a candidate to address what he described as a persistent leadership deficit affecting grassroots communities.<\/p>\n
He submitted the documents to the State PDP Chairman, Alabh George Turnah at the PDP Secretariat in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, with party officials, supporters, and well-wishers present. <\/p>\n
Speaking on Saturday, Akinaka said his decision to contest followed an earlier declaration of interest made at a party gathering on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Addressing party members and supporters, Akinaka said his candidacy was a response to the socio-economic challenges facing rural dwellers in the senatorial district.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs one who has experienced the life of our people living in rural communities, I see myself as an embodiment of the collective aspirations of our people. That is why I have thrown my hat into the ring to address the leadership gap and make life better for our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He emphasised his personal connection to the struggles of constituents, arguing that lived experience provides him with both legitimacy and urgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the best for my constituency. Having experienced life in the same conditions many of our people face, I see it as a responsibility to improve livelihoods at the grassroots. That is why I am seeking this platform\u2014to advance that purpose,\u201d Akinaka added.<\/p>\n
The aspiring lawmaker also dismissed age as a limiting factor in governance, asserting that competence and accountability should be the primary criteria for leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am 43 years old, and I have the capacity to run for this position. Age is not an indication of performance; it is just a number. The real question is whether the individual is responsible enough to undertake the task. If that is the benchmark, then I am well qualified to represent Bayelsa Central in the Senate,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Responding, the State PDP Chairman, Alabh George Turnah commended the aspirant for his loyalty to the PDP, assuring that the party still remains a viable platform to achieve his political ambition.<\/p>\n
He said the leadership tussle in the party has been resolved by a recent Supreme Court ruling, and urged the aspirant to be steadfast in his consultations ahead of the party primaries.<\/p>\n
Mr Akinnaka joins a growing list of aspirants jostling for the PDP ticket for Bayelsa Central ahead of the 2027 general election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By David Owei,Bayelsa A 43-year-old entrepreneur, Akinaka Richard, has formally declared his ambition to contest the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District seat under the platform of the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP), positioning himself as a candidate to address what he described as a persistent leadership deficit affecting grassroots communities. He submitted the documents to the State […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13466"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13468,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13466\/revisions\/13468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}