A former Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, has countered a former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu, who said the northern Peoples Democratic Party governors worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.
Jang said there was no truth in Aliyu’s statement that the northern PDP governors worked against the ex-president’s re-election.
Aliyu had on Friday said they worked against Jonathan’s re-election because he allegedly reneged on an agreement not to seek a second term.
He said the North stood disadvantaged by the death of ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua and Jonathan’s second term ambition.
But Jang said in a statement on Saturday that at no time did the northern PDP governors meet, deliberate and decide not to support Jonathan’s re-election bid.
The statement titled, ‘Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu Lied,’ was signed by Jang’s media consultant, Clinton Garuba.
The statement read, “The attention of the immediate past governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang, has just been drawn to a statement credited to a past governor of Niger State where he alleged that the northern PDP governors met, deliberated and all decided not to support the re-election of the then President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and wish to state categorically that Senator Jonah Jang was not part of that meeting.
“For the avoidance of doubt, despite the perceived shortcomings of President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Jang believed that President Jonathan was better equipped to rule Nigeria at the time, especially when his opponent was General (Muhammadu) Buhari, who Jang did not hide his conviction concerning Buhari’s inability to resolve the nation’s challenges and sensitivity of the issues at the moment. Unfortunately, Buhari won and we are all witnesses to the tales of woes.”
Jang said he was not one who spoke from both sides of his mouth and that was why Jonathan won in Plateau State during the 2015 election.
PUNCH
