Though the outcome of the elections to be held in February is one that is still giving Nigerians and the international community cause for attention, what could be described as a political end for former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, reared it’s head on Tuesday after he was condemned by top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Turn by turn at the Lafia Township Stadium during the PDP presidential rally, President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and Chairman of the Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Ahmadu Ali, took time to slam him for leaving the party.
Maku had left the PDP which he allegedly served meritoriously and moved to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) after he was rejected as the governorship candidate of the party for the February elections in Nigeria.
Even though he is currently the APGA candidate for the Nasarawa State governorship election, he had not stopped campaigning for President Jonathan ahead of the elections.
The trio of Jonathan, Mark and Ali described Maku in different terms. While Jonathan said he engaged in anti-party activities, Mark described him as a liar and Ali called him an ingrate.
According to Jonathan, the claim by Maku that he (Jonathan) encouraged Maku to contest under APGA is false. Jonathan said approving such for Maku means he would be engaging in anti-party activities.
Jonathan, who said he understood the PDP constitution and would not go against it, added that he had never had a meeting or discussion with Maku in that regard thus wondering how he could have encourage Maku to join APGA.
While speaking, Mark declared that Maku must apologise for telling lies against the President and also retrace his steps.
He said if this was not done, the party would not re-accept Maku.
Declaring that the North-Central was purely behind Jonathan, Mark told the people of the state not to be deceived by any of their sons that says he has been put in another party to run for the governorship, noting that Jonathan is a PDP member in all ramifications and would therefore not do such.
Mark said the support Jonathan earned from the region is because he had brought the dividends of democracy to the region.
In his own address, Ali said it was lamentable that Maku, after using the PDP platform to rise to stardom, suddenly dumped the party out greed.
He added that Jonathan had never asked anyone to leave the PDP for any reason.
He said with such deceitful statement from Maku, he wants to portray Jonathan as a religious bigot.
He said Maku would be defeated because he lacks integrity and that people of the state no longer had respect for him since he lacks the true qualities of a leader.
But an aide to Maku told Huhuonline.com that Maku would not want to take up issues with the trio till after the elections.
Pleading to remain anonymous since he is not authorised to speak officially, he confirmed that Maku actually said he was encouraged by President Jonathan to join APGA.
“But the three of them (Jonathan, Mark and Ali) are just playing politics because they have omitted the context under which Maku made the statement,” the aide said.
“My boss’ assertion stemmed from the fact that he was pushed out of the PDP, I mean frustrated out of the PDP. That’s what they should have told the people and not that they sat with him to encourage him to leave the party.
“For my boss who could serve so meritoriously in the PDP government to be so treated, are you telling me that they did not do it for their own selfish reasons?
“In politics, every candidate or politician is first particular about himself before others. So don’t see what they have said as the utmost truth.”
