Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, has said he and four other colleagues, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to join the All Progressives Congress, did not do so to upstage the leadership of the APC.
The governor in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the G5 governors were motivated by higher patriotic motives.
According to him, the governors were motivated by among other things, a need to provide Nigerians with a viable opposition platform to check the current drift in the polity.
He listed the drift in the polity to include the replacement of all democratic cultures and tenets with a culture of impunity and political brigandage.
Nyako explained that the five governors were also motivated by the need to join other patriots to form a Pan-Nigerian national platform that will serve as a veritable vehicle, for the enthronement of genuine unity, peace and progress in the nation.
The statement read in part, “The Governor recalls that at the time they pulled out of the PDP, several options were open to them.
“They could have formed a new political Party; they could have joined a newly registered Party or any of the other existing political parties in Nigeria.
“But they opted to join the APC because it represents a broad based coalition of democratic forces built on the ideals of progress and development.
“These ideals are very important and should be respected by all members of the Party Nationwide.
“It is therefore imperative that all members of the APC hold on these ideals at all times. Under such circumstances, there should be no reason to disagree on anything least of all leadership of the Party at any level.”