No President ‘Living or Dead’ Has Done More for My People Like Tinubu — Senator Katung

Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, representing the Southern Kaduna senatorial district in the red chamber, has defended his recent decamping to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), saying his decision was based on the premise that no President, living or dead, has done for his people what President Bola Tinubu has achieved in less than two years of his tenure.

Speaking in an interview with journalists over the weekend, Senator Katung said that even if he had not joined the APC, he would still campaign for Tinubu in 2027.

The lawmaker noted, “My decision was based purely on gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Even if I had remained in PDP, I would have still worked 100% for him.”

He added, “No President—living or dead—has done for my people what he has done.”

Buttressing his point, Senator Katung maintained that, “In less than 18 months, he established a Federal University in my district, with a College of Medicine, and a Federal Medical Centre. These are legacy institutions that will outlive all of us.”

He continued, “After consulting widely with my people, we agreed that supporting the President fully was the right thing to do. Remaining in PDP and working for him from there would have amounted to antipathy.”

The lawmaker said his major preoccupation is to continue working for the people, saying, “Right now I am not after going for a second term, but what my people will remember me for.”

“I am very concerned about the infrastructural neglect in Kauru and Sanga LGAs. They seem to be among the most neglected communities in the country. Many communities have no motorable roads. A 15-minute journey can take three to four hours. There are villages that government officials have never visited because of the terrain.

“Last year, I visited a community where students drowned while trying to cross a river. When I crossed that same river, I was moved to tears. These are human beings like me. That is why infrastructure—roads, healthcare facilities and electrification—is my top priority.

“Planning must start from the bottom up. You cannot impose projects on people. Failure to engage communities is one of the reasons government projects fail.

“Lack of engagement also fuels insecurity. When youths are idle, they fall into drugs, crime or political thuggery.

“Politics should not be a full-time job. It is a vocation. People should have a real first address—some productive work—before coming into politics,” he stressed.