The intense power play preceding the 2015 presidential election intensified on Saturday when Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan entered into an agreement with governors on the platform of the PDP to serve for a term.
Gov Babangida, who spoke with all seriousness, made the claim during an interview with a Kaduna-based radio station, Liberty FM on Saturday morning.
In the interview, he insisted that Jonathan signed a single-term pact with PDP governors. According to the governor, it was on the basis of the said agreement that he and some of his colleagues in the ruling party supported the President in the 2011 presidential election.
He said, “What will be, will be in 2015. We must remind people of the promises they have made. When he (Jonathan) was going to declare, governors of PDP were brought together to ensure that we were all in the same frame of mind. Some of us, given the PDP zoning, were expecting that the northern states would produce the President for these number of years but God has done His own.
“At that discussion, it was agreed that President Jonathan would serve one term and we all signed and when he went to Kampala, he said the same thing. But for now, President Jonathan has not declared his candidacy and we must not be speculating based on who those are benefiting from such a thing. I believe that we are all gentlemen enough and when the time comes, we will all sit down and see what the right thing to do is.
“Many people may misunderstand my stance that I pray for the success of the merger of the opposition parties because I want a situation where in this country, parties can really challenge one another. So that we don’t take it for granted that because you have been winning elections, you can do as you wish. There is a purpose for election. There is a purpose for setting up government. You set up government for the competence, effectiveness and efficiency of running an administration. You don’t set it up because of a group of people to keep on enjoying to the detriment of the people.”
But when contacted, the Presidency deny the claims credited to Gov Babangida, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum.
Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, claimed Jonathan did not sign any agreement with anyone. “The alleged agreement only exists in the figment of the imagination of somebody with presidential ambition,” he added.
He said, “What will be, will be in 2015. We must remind people of the promises they have made. When he (Jonathan) was going to declare, governors of PDP were brought together to ensure that we were all in the same frame of mind. Some of us, given the PDP zoning, were expecting that the northern states would produce the President for these number of years but God has done His own.
“At that discussion, it was agreed that President Jonathan would serve one term and we all signed and when he went to Kampala, he said the same thing. But for now, President Jonathan has not declared his candidacy and we must not be speculating based on who those are benefiting from such a thing. I believe that we are all gentlemen enough and when the time comes, we will all sit down and see what the right thing to do is.
“Many people may misunderstand my stance that I pray for the success of the merger of the opposition parties because I want a situation where in this country, parties can really challenge one another. So that we don’t take it for granted that because you have been winning elections, you can do as you wish. There is a purpose for election. There is a purpose for setting up government. You set up government for the competence, effectiveness and efficiency of running an administration. You don’t set it up because of a group of people to keep on enjoying to the detriment of the people.”
But when contacted, the Presidency deny the claims credited to Gov Babangida, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum.
Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, claimed Jonathan did not sign any agreement with anyone. “The alleged agreement only exists in the figment of the imagination of somebody with presidential ambition,” he added.
