The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance in Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku, has hit back at Senate President, David Mark, and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Ahmadu Ali, for accusing him of betraying the party.
Mr. Maku, a former Minister of Information, formally joined APGA to contest the Nasarawa State governorship election, after losing to Yusuf Agabi in the PDP primaries in December last year.
Mr. Maku cited injustice and fraudulent processes in the primary as the reasons for his defection.
At the campaign flag-off of Mr. Agabi in Keffi last week, Mr. Mark accused Mr. Maku of ingratitude and betrayal for leaving PDP.
Similarly, on Tuesday, during the PDP presidential campaign in Lafia, Mr. Ali, Director-General of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, said Maku “will continue failing for the rest of his life” for leaving PDP which had helped groom him and make him deputy governor and minister “from nowhere.”
Top members of the PDP including President Goodluck Jonathan the Senate President, David Mark, disowned Mr. Maku, categorically saying the President does not support his defection or ambition to be governor. They declared their loyalty for Mr. Agabi and asked Mr. Maku to return to the PDP if he wants forgiveness.
But in his reaction, Mr. Maku, speaking through a statement by Zakari Edego, the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign organisation, said the PDP leaders were jittery and panicky as a result of his exit from the party to emerge as APGA’s governorship candidate for Nasarawa State.
“The import of these attacks on the APGA governorship candidate clearly shows that there is panic in the PDP in Nasarawa State following the emergence of Mr. Maku as the flag-bearer of APGA,” the statement said.
“The real issue in Nasarawa state is that some people within and outside the state believe that no Christian should ever be governor of Nasarawa state. Therefore, Mr. Maku is being persecuted purely for religious reasons.
“The attacks on him are orchestrated to sustain the status quo in Nasarawa, which is already leading to destruction of the state by insurgents and mercenaries. This development portends danger to the future unity and development of Nasarawa state and our dear country.
“The Maku Campaign Organisation views the sustained attack against the APGA candidate as a desperate measure by some leaders of the PDP to distract him from campaigning to defeat their candidate and the incumbent in the upcoming governorship elections.”
He queried Mr. Mark’s particular anger over his exit, while remaining silent on the defections in his native Benue State.
“While Mr. Maku has high respect for Senator Mark and Dr. Ahmadu Ali and wishes not to join issues with them, he finds it especially curious that Senator Mark has remained mute over the defection in his own native Benue State of Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Sam Ortom, and former PDP National Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, who have gone all the way to the opposition APC to contest for the governorship and senatorial positions respectively.
“Why has Senator Mark not condemned these defections from his native Benue state? Why the undue attention on Mr. Maku and Nasarawa State?”
Mr. Maku said he never enlisted the support of Mr. Jonathan for his governorship ambition in APGA, adding that, he is experienced enough to know a sitting president would not support him in an opposition party.
He condemned David Mark and Ahmadu Ali for expressing anger over his campaign for Mr. Jonathan, whom APGA adopted as its presidential candidate as a result of his “sterling leadership qualities and many achievements in office”.
“We therefore urge our teeming supporters to disregard all insinuations and threats and sustain the tempo of the campaign for Mr. Labaran Maku and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to emerge as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and governor of Nasarawa State in this year’s general elections,” the statement said.
