Punch We have no personal grudge against Jonathan – Aliyu AUGUST 30, 2013 BY OLALEKAN ADETAYO, ABUJA One of the five northern state governors who have been consulting on the state of the nation, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, on Thursday met with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. At the end of the closed-doors meeting, Aliyu told State House House correspondents that it was wrong for people to believe that he and his colleagues were nursing personal grudges against the President. He said while he and his co-governors were at liberty to disagree with a particular policy and the process, it would be wrong for them to disagree with the President because they did not put him in his current position. Contrary to the belief that they are mobilising against the President, Aliyu explained that the purpose of their nationwide consultation was to insulate Jonathan who people always accuse in the event of any ugly development. He said since a governor was free to consult with the President anytime, he was in the Presidential Villa to clear one or two issues bordering on infrastructure, airport in Niger State and roads. He said as a Peoples Democratic Party governor, he also discussed the issue of the Saturday special convention of the party with the President. He said, “Let us get something very clear, in politics, you may disagree with a particular policy, you may disagree with the process but you cannot be said to disagree with the President because you did not put him there. Nigerians put him there and God put him there. “This is the mistake that people make. They want to put people against each other. Even in your house as a father, sometimes your child may disagree with the way and manner to do certain things but that doesn’t mean he is not your son. I think that is the misnomer that many people have been giving out. “We have many issues on ground and unless they are discussed, there is no way you can solve them. I don’t think it is against the President. Some issues came up and they have been discussed. “You remember our problems in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. We are discussing how to resolve them. We want to insulate clearly Mr. President out of it because every issue that happen now, they say the President is involved even the simple election that took place for the youth council in Niger, many people wanted to bring politics into it. “I have heard people saying it should not be held in Niger because the governor is against the President. I think that is a misnomer and I think a local approach to the matter.” Aliyu denied involvement in the formation of a new political party called the Voice of the People. He vowed that he would not leave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party unless he was dismissed from the party. “I am not a quitter. God took me to PDP. My prayer was to be a Head of Service and God said I should be governor under PDP and I am not thinking about quitting now unless I am dismissed. But I am not jumping from one party to another,” he declared. The governor faulted the recent expulsion of some commissioners and personal aides of the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, from the PDP.
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 09:58:02 +0000
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