TheCable

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a member of the house of representatives from Kano state, says at least four governors in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2019 election.

The lawmaker said the governors, whose identities he did not disclose, have a “cross-party arrangement” with the APC.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Jibrin said: “At the moment, not less than four to five PDP governors are working in a cross-party arrangement to support the APC in the next presidential election.”

He added that the ruling party is “not shaking” despite losing many of its key members in the last one week.

The party has lost 46 members of the national assembly and three governors to the opposition since last week, with more lawmakers reportedly plotting to leave.

Jibrin, however, said adequate measures were being put in place to ensure the party’s “strongholds remain intact.”

“If the APC were presenting another candidate other than President Muhammadu Buhari, I would have been a bit jittery about the defections but there is this consensus within the party with Buhari as our presidential candidate,” he said.

“Those people against Buhari in Nigeria are just a group of elites with no electoral value. And so in the next election is going to be between some sections of the elites verses the masses.”

‘NO NIGERIAN CAN MATCH BUHARI’S ELECTORAL VALUE’

Jibrin said the president currently has the “highest electoral value in the country and in the entire Africa”, adding that his ability to bring Nigeria out of economic recession last year is enough reason for him to seek re-election.

“When people say the economy is going down, I get surprised. What indices are they using to make their judgement?” he asked.

“The reality of the matter is that the capacity of Buhari setting up a crack team, giving power to the CBN and ministry of finance to battle the economic recession that would have brought Nigeria to ground zero is enough for Buhari to contest the next election.

“That was what former US president Barrack Obama did. He came when there was economic crisis in America and within two years, he was able to bring the country back on board. That was what he used to get re-election.”