Why I abandoned Amaechi, Kwankwaso, others – Aliyu

Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State said that he would not defect to the opposition party because his conscience, understanding and position were with the Peoples Democratic Party.
Aliyu made this known when he led a delegation of the party stakeholders from Niger State on a visit to the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Aliyu was among the seven PDP governors that staged a walk out from the party’s Special National Convention in Abuja on August 31, 2013.
He was part of the team that formed the New PDP.
But when five of his colleagues in the nPDP, including Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, joined the All Progressives Congress, he remained in the PDP.
Aliyu said on Wednesday during his visit to Mu’azu: “Yes, we have had challenges.
“I led the group, which came to be known as G-7, but that protest was not intended to tear the party and move away.
“Many people had asked me: you led the group, how come you did not move?
“I did not move because my conscience, my understanding and my position are with the PDP.
“And I believe that come 2015, the PDP will form the Federal Government and the Niger government.
“I say this strongly because God has not finished with us yet.
“I believe that with the new strategy that we will come up with, we should be able to convince Nigerians to vote for PDP because it represents unity, development and the progress of Nigeria.”
Aliyu, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, said that the PDP represented the black race and the people had confidence in what the party was doing.
He said that the PDP since its inception done very well in all sectors of the economy and had positively impacted on the people.
He said that there was no PDP governor that had not built 1,000 housing units, adding that many PDP governors had gone beyond that.
Aliyu explained that there was the need for the party to create hope and confidence in Nigerians.
According to him, with the emergence of Mu’azu as the party’s national chairman, the PDP can now go with its head high to campaign and tell Nigerians that it is the party.
Aliyu said that all the challenges confronting the party would strengthen it and make it a better and the party to beat.
The governor said that he led the delegation to the party secretariat to pledge their solidarity, support and commitment to the PDP and its new national chairman and leadership.
“We hope that you will really bring all the positive things that we know about you to this party,” he said.
He expressed the hope that with the new agricultural policy, the country would soon begin to export rather than import food.
This, the governor said, would be possible with the introduction of wet and dry season farming.
Aliyu said that the number of enrolments in schools and the introduction of free education in some PDP-controlled states deserved commendation.
He, however, said that if government was able to curb stealing and corruption in the country, it would be able to do more for the people.
In his response the PDP chairman appealed to all aggrieved members of the party to forget the past and return to the party’s fold.
Mu’azu solicited for advice from PDP members in Niger State on how to move the party forward.
He said: “Our office is one for advice.
“We do not claim monopoly of knowledge, neither do we claim monopoly of knowing what to do to solve the problem of PDP.
“Those of you who are our members, a lot of you have a lot of wisdom and I want you to please endeavour to send me your advice as soon as you can.”
Mu’azu appealed to the Niger State governor to leave his doors open so that the people could send their letters of advice.
He said that a committee with experienced members of the party would be constituted to find out where the party had gone wrong and how correction could be made.
The party national chairman assured his visitors that his leadership would continue to consult and collaborate with the party stakeholders to move it forward.