As the next year’s general elections draw closer and plot by the two dominant parties in the country – the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and The All People’s Congress (APC) – thicken, the ruling PDP has sent emissaries to the Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, not to defect from the party to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 general election.
The emissaries, which included the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Tony Anenih, and the Secretary, Walid Jubril, were said to have prevailed on the aggrieved governor to support the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Lamido was said to be nursing presidential ambition until the party’s National Executive Committee endorsed President Jonathan as the PDP sole candidate for its primary.
Before the PDP move, there had been unconfirmed reports that Lamido was not happy and that he could work for the opposition during the presidential election.
But the emissaries, who were members of the Interface Committee set up by the national leadership of the party, were said to be surprised when Lamido revealed his grievances to them.
The governor was said to have complained about the refusal of the President to fulfill majority of his campaign promises to the people of the state.
“He didn’t hide his grievances as he told the delegation that he and the people of the state were not happy with the President,” a source close to the party said.
Jubril, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, confirmed the meeting with Lamido and how he (the governor) complained that the President didn’t fulfill his electoral promises to the state.
The BoT secretary said, “We will address his grievances. We will settle the issues he raised. He complained that a lot of promises were made by the President in 2011, which he said the President failed to fulfill.
“We promised to address those issues, but we also know that the President has done a lot for the people of the state. So, we are addressing the issues.
“We know that the governor will not defect to the opposition political party as being envisaged by some people. If he was going to defect, he would have done that with the group of the then seven aggrieved governors.”
Lamido and the Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, were among the aggrieved governors, but while five others left for the APC, the two remained in the ruling party.
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