April 23, 2018

Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa has described as untrue media reports that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State are negotiating to defect to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Badaru, who is the Chairman, 2018 Congresses and Convention Committee of All Progressives Congress (APC), debunked the reports when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja on Monday.

He alleged that a similar fake story was circulated on Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue in the social media that the governor had concluded arrangements to quit the APC for PDP.

“It is not true (Tambuwal and Saraki are negotiating with the PDP), we have not heard of that. Some few weeks back there was rumour about the governor of Benue and he made it clear at our last NEC that he is not moving anywhere.

“Those are rumours flying around but they don’t have consequence.

“We are united, governor Tambuwal is with us and the Distinguished senator Bukola Saraki, the Senate President is also with APC and we have not had any reason to think that they are negotiating elsewhere, no.’’

Some conventional and social media outfits had on Monday reported that Saraki and Tambuwal were being pressurized to return to the PDP.

They quoted a top member of PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), as saying that the pair was being “begged to return to their roots as part of a larger reconciliation policy in PDP’’.

The report said: “The PDP is said to have also initiated talks with three APC governors in the Northwest, which is the political base of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is said to have called on Saraki and Tambuwal, his predecessor, Senator Aliyu Wammako, former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje to return to its fold in order to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) next year.’’
On the forthcoming APC convention, Badaru expressed the hope that the exercise would go a long way toward uniting members of the party.

“I am sure the convention will bring everybody together and in democracy if you are open and straight forward, things get done well, I don’t think there should be any problem,’’ he added.

The governor also dismissed the report that there was a case of political unrest in the state at the weekend, saying that what was witnessed at the Gumel rally was a normal political shunting between two contending groups at the rally.