Defected Governors Are Ingrates –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan in Minna yesterday described the five governors who defected from the ruling party to the All Progressives Congress as ingrates. He said the defected governors left the PDP on self-exile, even as Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu pleaded that the party should leave its door widely open for the governors whom, he said, would soon return to the PDP after seeing the light.

Addressing party loyalists at the North-central zonal solidarity rally held at the Trade Fair Complex in Minna, Jonathan wondered how people who had benefited immensely from the PDP as governors and ministers since the inception of the party in 1999 would now turn round to jettison it and call it names. He told his cheering audience that performance, not media propaganda wins elections, urging the people not to be deceived by the propaganda of the opposition party.

Jonathan urged the people to see the opposition APC as chameleon that cannot be trusted. Speaker after speaker, especially PDP governors gave the president resounding assurances of re-election in 2015.  Even when they described the rally as one of sensitization and not a political gathering, the governors led by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio reeled out the achievements of the president as well as the PDP governors to the admiration of the cheering audience.

Senator Gbemisola Saraki whose supporters took almost half of the entire crowd gave assurance that the people of Kwara State felt disappointed that they had been taken away from the mainstream politics of the country, pointing out that the dust raised by the president’s visit last week was yet to settle down in the state.

National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu said there would be no automatic ticket for anybody in the PDP, saying anyone who wanted to lead the people must go to the people.