Labaran Maku hits back at David Mark, Ahmadu Ali, others

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The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance in Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku, has hit back at Senate President, David Mark, and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Ahmadu Ali, for accusing him of betraying the party.

Mr. Maku, a former Minister of Information, formally joined APGA to contest the Nasarawa State governorship election, after losing to Yusuf Agabi in the PDP primaries in December last year.

Mr. Maku cited injustice and fraudulent processes in the primary as the reasons for his defection.
At the campaign flag-off of Mr. Agabi in Keffi last week, Mr. Mark accused Mr. Maku of ingratitude and betrayal for leaving PDP.

Similarly, on Tuesday, during the PDP presidential campaign in Lafia, Mr. Ali, Director-General of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, said Maku “will continue failing for the rest of his life” for leaving PDP which had helped groom him and make him deputy governor and minister “from nowhere.”

Top members of the PDP including President Goodluck Jonathan the Senate President, David Mark, disowned Mr. Maku, categorically saying the President does not support his defection or ambition to be governor. They declared their loyalty for Mr. Agabi and asked Mr. Maku to return to the PDP if he wants forgiveness.

But in his reaction, Mr. Maku, speaking through a statement by Zakari Edego, the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign organisation, said the PDP leaders were jittery and panicky as a result of his exit from the party to emerge as APGA’s governorship candidate for Nasarawa State.

“The import of these attacks on the APGA governorship candidate clearly shows that there is panic in the PDP in Nasarawa State following the emergence of Mr. Maku as the flag-bearer of APGA,” the statement said.

“The real issue in Nasarawa state is that some people within and outside the state believe that no Christian should ever be governor of Nasarawa state. Therefore, Mr. Maku is being persecuted purely for religious reasons.
“The attacks on him are orchestrated to sustain the status quo in Nasarawa, which is already leading to destruction of the state by insurgents and mercenaries. This development portends danger to the future unity and development of Nasarawa state and our dear country.

“The Maku Campaign Organisation views the sustained attack against the APGA candidate as a desperate measure by some leaders of the PDP to distract him from campaigning to defeat their candidate and the incumbent in the upcoming governorship elections.”

He queried Mr. Mark’s particular anger over his exit, while remaining silent on the defections in his native Benue State.

“While Mr. Maku has high respect for Senator Mark and Dr. Ahmadu Ali and wishes not to join issues with them, he finds it especially curious that Senator Mark has remained mute over the defection in his own native Benue State of Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Sam Ortom, and former PDP National Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, who have gone all the way to the opposition APC to contest for the governorship and senatorial positions respectively.

“Why has Senator Mark not condemned these defections from his native Benue state? Why the undue attention on Mr. Maku and Nasarawa State?”

Mr. Maku said he never enlisted the support of Mr. Jonathan for his governorship ambition in APGA, adding that, he is experienced enough to know a sitting president would not support him in an opposition party.

He condemned David Mark and Ahmadu Ali for expressing anger over his campaign for Mr. Jonathan, whom APGA adopted as its presidential candidate as a result of his “sterling leadership qualities and many achievements in office”.

“We therefore urge our teeming supporters to disregard all insinuations and threats and sustain the tempo of the campaign for Mr. Labaran Maku and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to emerge as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and governor of Nasarawa State in this year’s general elections,” the statement said.

Read Mr. Maku’s full statement below.

Maku Clears The Air

The attention of the Maku Campaign Organisation has been drawn to repeated accusations by some leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who continuously portray the governorship candidate of the All Progress Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Labaran Maku as an ingrate for dumping the PDP to pursue his ambition in APGA.

The accusations have amounted to blackmailing President Goodluck Jonathan of allegedly sponsoring Mr. Maku to contest the governorship of Nasarawa State on the platform of APGA.

 Last week at the PDP rally in Keffi to flag off the campaign of the highly unpopular  Alhaji Yusuf Agabi, the Senate President, David Mark, accused Mr. Maku of being ungrateful because he left the PDP to emerge as the governorship candidate of APGA in Nasarawa State.

On Tuesday, 27th January, 2015, various speakers at the presidential campaign in Lafia repeated the same accusations.

While Mr. Maku has high respect for Senator Mark and Dr. Ahmadu Ali and wishes not to join issues with them, he finds it especially curious that Senator Mark has remained mute over the defection in his own native Benue State of Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment Dr. Sam Ortom and former PDP National Chairman Senator Barnabas Gemade who have gone all the way to the opposition APC to contest for the governorship and senatorial positions respectively.

Why has Senator Mark not condemned these defections from his native Benue state? Why the undue attention on Mr. Maku and Nasarawa State?

The import of these attacks on the APGA governorship candidate clearly shows that there is panic in the PDP in Nasarawa State following the emergence of Mr. Maku as the Flag bearer of APGA.

The truth of the matter is that Mr. Maku never told anyone even while contesting for the governorship ticket in the PDP that the president was behind him, neither did he suggest to anyone when he decamped to APGA that President Jonathan supported his decision.

The PDP primaries was marred by irregularities including the change of delegates’ list and the manipulation of religion to impose Alhaji Yusuf Agabi as candidate. Some delegates’ lives were openly threatened at the ill-fated PDP primaries at Nasarawa town if they ever voted for Mr. Maku.

Before Mr. Maku left the PDP, he followed the due process to seek redress over the highly bungled governorship primaries including petitioning the PDP Governorship Primaries Appeal Panel under the chairmanship of the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu on the irregularities and other anti-democratic activities that led to the imposition of Alhaji Yusuf Agabi as the candidate of the PDP.

However, the Appeal Panel neither acknowledged nor invited Mr. Maku to defend the appeal he filed against the conduct of the governorship primary election.

Since loyalty is crucial in party politics, why was Mr. Maku, a loyal party member and leader of the party in Nasarawa state for four years schemed out of the PDP primaries on the basis of religion?

Another pertinent question to ask is why scheme out a loyal party member who stood by the party and defended its policies and programmes at the state and national level for many years only to turn around to use his loyalty against him?

The real issue in Nasarawa state is that some people within and outside the state believe that no Christian should ever be governor of Nasarawa state. Therefore, Mr. Maku is being persecuted purely for religious reasons.

The attacks on him are orchestrated to sustain the status quo in Nasarawa, which is already leading to destruction of the state by insurgents and mercenaries. This development portends danger to the future unity and development of Nasarawa state and our dear country.

Mr. Maku’ s well considered decision to leave PDP for APGA was actually intended to bring out the real hidden issues that have continued to undermine the unity and development of Nasarawa State.

In doing so, he is fully aware that he will be blackmailed and maligned because he ever dared to challenge the status quo by those who want a divided state.

It is equally curious how some of the PDP chieftains openly expressed their anger because Mr. Maku is campaigning for the president in Nasarawa State even though  his new party, the APGA, has adopted Mr. President as its own presidential candidate because of his sterling leadership qualities and many achievements in office.

The Maku Campaign Organisation views the sustained attack against the APGA candidate as a desperate measure by some leaders of the PDP to distract him from campaigning to defeat their candidate and the incumbent in the upcoming governorship elections as Mr. Maku is experienced enough in politics to know there is no way a sitting president will support him in an opposition party against his own party.

We therefore urge our teeming supporters to disregard all insinuations and threats and sustain the tempo of the campaign for Mr. Labaran Maku and Dr. Goodluck  Ebele Jonathan to emerge as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and governor of Nasarawa State in this year’s general elections.

Zakari Edego

Director Publicity

Maku Campaign Organisation