By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna
Twice in two days, the immediate past Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has taken a swipe at the governing All Progressive Congress in both Niger state and at the federal level giving the party a severe knock saying the All Progressives Congress, (APC) is no match to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in both characters, candour, records and achievements.
Dr. Babangida Aliyu spoke during the inaugural meeting of a forum styled ”Servant Leadership Forum” held in his house in Minna, the state capital.
He recalled that during his regime, a lot of APC chieftains made advances to him to join them to add colour and personality to the APC but he refused to bulge.
He argued that even in the first year of his administration in 1999, there were plenty developmental strides to show and be proud of by his administration and citizens of the state.
”The dividends of the PDP’s eight years administration in Niger state cannot be matched by what is on the ground because no single Ward of the state across the entire 25 Local Government Councils of the state did not feel the presence of the regime” he boasted.
”Across everywhere in the state, people have been telling us that the government of PDP was the best the country has ever had. Government is actually about security, development and for the provision of basic amenities, utilities and infrastructure”
Dr. Babangida Aliyu said he had never thought of leaving the PDP or ever nursed the ambition of joining the All Progressive Congress for any reason. “I am a die-hard PDP member who will remain in the party no matter the challenges” he said.
Speaking on his rumoured plans to join the APC, Dr. Babangida Aliyu said “it is something of a pride to hear rumours that i have joined the APC. That means those in the APC know my esteem worth. They are indirectly lobbying me to join the party.” I am not nursing an ambition to join the APC. I am not a selfish politician or one without ideology. I remain a committed member of the PDP no matter the difficulties or how hard it is for my party now. “
The Servant Leadership Forum is aimed at to mobilise people of like minds for good governance in the state,
He explained that those who had defected to the APC were paid and sponsored to decamp for pecuniary gains. He said by the time they cannot get what they have been promised or squarely rewarded accordingly, they will leave the party or return to where they had come from.
The Servant Leadership Forum according to Dr. Babangida Aliyu is a non-partisan forum that comprises people who have served the state in various capacities from 2007 to 2015 stating that the forum would position Niger state for trained, responsible and principled leadership.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Niger, Barrister Tanko Beji has debunked claims by the ruling APC that over 34,000 people defected or joined its fold at the weekend during a rally to drum support for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello in 2019.
Barrister Beji argued that it was not possible to claim that such large number of PDP members had decamped to the APC.
He argued that the entire people present at the ‘Unity Rally’ held at the Minna Trade Fair complex were not up to 10, 000 and therefore wondered where such a bogus number of decay were cooked from.
He told journalists during a press conference held at the PDP state Secretariat in Minna that the APC was not only being economical with the truth about that their claims were laughable.
He said most of those at the so called unity forum were people who had since 2015 been with the APC but were being represented as new entrants to the party to hoodwink the unsuspecting citizens.
“It is sad that those who joined the APC way back in 2015 and were unveiled at the Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre and at Gidan Matasa over two years ago were still being paraded as new decampees. This is very funny indeed”, Beji said.