Why Northern PDP Governors Worked Against Jonathan’s Re-Election

A former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, has disclosed why northern governors of the Peoples Democratic Party worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Aliyu stated that PDP northern governors worked against Jonathan’s re-election because he broke an agreement not to seek a second term.

The former Niger governor made this known in a statement he signed titled, ‘Why We Opposed Jonathan’s Second Term Bid –Babangida Aliyu.’

He was reacting to his purported suspension by the PDP in Chachanga Local Government Area of Niger State for alleged anti-party activities, including working against Jonathan in 2015.

He said, “All the governors in the North under the PDP supported the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to complete the remaining years of Yar’Adua’s tenure and to contest the next presidential election as a sole candidate of our great party.

“However, midway, President Goodluck Jonathan insisted to run for the office in 2015 against the grain of our earlier agreement.

“Since this was against the grain of our earlier agreement in the party, and which we, the governors in the North felt the North would have been short-changed if Jonathan had succeeded, we rose stoutly to insist on the agreement we all had.

“On that premise, we opposed Jonathan. But all along, Goodluck Jonathan had enjoyed every support from the governors in the north and the entire region.”

Aliyu, who was a former chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum and a former leader of a PDP faction, said the North stood disadvantaged by Yar’Adua’s death and the insistence that Jonathan should run for the office of president in 2015.