TheCable

Labaran Maku, the immediate past minister of information and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand ALliance (APGA), says top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have recently been criticisng him out of fear.

Maku said knowing that he stands a better chance than Yusuf Agabi, the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the February 28 election, the party was attempting to distract him.

Ahmadu Ali, the director-general of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign organization; David Mark, the senate president; and President Goodluck Jonathan all criticised Maku at the PDP presidential campaign rally in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa state, on Tuesday.

Ali described Maku as an ingrate, saying he would live to regret his action if he does not reconcile with the ruling party.

“Maku decided to leave the party for another party and keep telling lies that by being in that party, he is helping us,” he said.

“He is only going there to reduce our votes. He is a dangerous boy. We must make sure that now that he has shown his colour, he will continue failing for the rest of his life unless he retraces his steps back to the elders like us and we will forgive him.”

But in a statement signed by Zakari Edego, the director of publicity, Maku campaign organization, the APGA candidate alleged that some stalwarts of his former party were attempting to blackmail him.

“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,” the statement read.

“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.”

Maku denied ever saying that Jonathan endorsed his move to APGA and accused Mark of focusing on Nasarawa when there were issues that he ought to address in his own 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,” the statement read.

“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 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.”