A governorship aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), David Ombugadu, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission Result Viewing (IReV) showed that he won the 2023 governorship election in Nasarawa State.

Ombugadu, who spoke on Thursday after submitting his governorship nomination forms, called for a transparent election in 2027.

He called on party supporters to protect their votes and ensure that the election results were transmitted.

The aspirant who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) explained that his intention was to align the interests of his people to the centre and attract dividends of democracy.

“I have been in opposition for the past eight years, running the flag of PDP, managing and sustaining the structure of PDP.

“And for those eight years, our people are on my side, and they felt that, no, why can’t you just align so that you can use your wealth of experience and attract more dividends of democracy to the people of Nasarawa state,” he further explained.

Ombugadu stated that while he was trying to negotiate for dividends of democracy for the people, “some conflicting interests came up, and I decided to come back to my home base.”

He said he has a roadmap on how to develop Nasarawa State, which he described as a demand-driven blueprint with “unique assessment appraisal of what the people want.”

The blueprint, according to him, cuts across human capital development and rural economic advancement.

Ombugadu said Nasarawa is an agricultural state, with more than 70 to 80 per cent of the population as farmers.

He stated that there would be a paradigm shift from certificate to skilled acquisition, to empower rural communities, and disclosed that he has provided over 1,500 boreholes to rural communities in Nasarawa State.

“We believe that it is not just about fiscal infrastructure, but we believe in human capital development; that power should be shifted to the people and empower them so that they can be responsible and contribute meaningfully to the economy.

“We want to make sure that the rural communities are captured in terms of development, not the facade work that you see on the street.

“What we will do differently is to execute a rural-based economic advancement where development will go from a bottom-up approach,” Ombugadu added.