Mr Babangida Aliyu, a former governor of Niger state has revealed why governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) worked against the former president Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection in 2015.
According to Aliyu, the PDP governors in the North worked against Jonathan because he broke his promise of not seeking a second term.
Aliyu stated this yesterday in a statement he signed titled, ‘Why We Opposed Jonathan’s Second Term Bid –Babangida Aliyu.’
Aliyu was reacting to his purported suspension by the PDP in Chachanga Local Government Area of Niger State for alleged anti-party activities, including working against Jonathan in 2015.
“All the governors in the North under the PDP supported the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to complete the remaining years of Yar’Adua’s tenure and to contest the next presidential election as a sole candidate of our great party.
“However, midway, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted to run for the office in 2015 against the grain of our earlier agreement”.
“Since this was against the grain of our earlier agreement in the party, and which we, the governors in the North felt the North would have been short-changed if Jonathan had succeeded, we rose stoutly to insist on the agreement we all had.
“On that premise, we opposed Jonathan. But all along, Goodluck Jonathan had enjoyed every support from the governors in the north and the entire region.”
Aliyu, who was once chairman of Northern Governors Forum and a former leader of a PDP faction explained that the insistence of Jonathan to run for president in 2015 was to the detriment of the North, explaining that the North was already at a loss with the death of Yar’Adua.
“We acted in good spirit and argued our points based on principle and on the subsisting agreement we had with Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That agreement was written and accepted by all.
“We didn’t oppose Jonathan but we were opposed to his insistence on a second term in office because the North would have lost out completely.
“It is, therefore, wrong for anyone to erroneously say that I, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, had opposed Goodluck Jonathan,” he concluded.
