State governors of the All Progressive Congress (APC) clamouring for the return of former president Goodluck Jonathan in the next presidential election have been described as hypocrites.
Sule Lamido, former Jigawa State governor, gave the description this today while featuring on Arise Television.
Speculations are rife that the former president who lost his re-election bid in 2015 to incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari is been persuaded to re-contest. Having ruled once and lost re-election, he is constitutionally entitled to another term of four years.
While Mr Buhari’s tenure winds down in two years time, there have been calls for power shift to the Southern region but some individuals who considered themselves influential in the Northern region are opposing it with most of them saying it was time to jettison zoning for competence.
Although this was the practice when the now opposing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held sway from 1999 to 2015, the arrangement is not known to the ruling APC.
Some governors of the ruling party, mostly from the North, had late last year visited Mr Jonathan. The visitors were said to be seeking the shortest route for their region to return to power, hence their decision to pressure their host who is a southerner, entitled to a single term, rather than choose a fresh candidate who will be re-elected thereby prolonging the North’s stay out of power.
The visiting delegates denied the insinuation when queried, saying politics was far from their discussion with Mr Jonathan who also cold-shouldered when asked, saying it was too early to discuss the next presidential race.
“To me, I think that they are being merely hypocrites,” Mr Lamido said, “They, the APC governors, are looking for him. Is it because there are no presidential materials in the APC? This is one of the heights of hypocrisy.”
The former governor also knocked the ruling party for particularly dividing Nigerians that they were when it took over.
“The years of the APC has brought hatred among Nigerians, a divided Nigeria full of insecurity with a culture of hate. What the APC says in the north is different from what it says in the South. APC is a party of double talk,” he said.
“Before the APC, Nigerians were united, but look at what it has done to a once united country. Before the APC, Nigerians were living in brotherly and sisterly lifestyles. Look at the level of insecurity now, look at the hatred in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile the national leadership of the APC has denied speculations that it intents to bring in Jonathan into the party and ensure he emerges its candidate for the next election.
Mai Mala-Buni, chairman of the interim caretaker committee of the APC said they visited him during his birthday because of his status as a former president
“Those peddling such information are afraid. But for now, there is nothing in the APC which has anything to do with the aspiration for 2023,” the Yobe governor told BBC Wednesday.
“Even if someone wants to base assumption on our recent visit to him during his birthday, we were there because of his status as a former president of Nigeria.
“Again, even when we are talking of peaceful coexistence, we must give credit to former President Jonathan on the issue of peace.
“How he accepted defeat in 2015 and resigned to fate. That has qualified him to be a statesman and he is now among our fathers.
“Our visit to Jonathan was because of his status as a former president, that could be why some may think there was something beneath.
“There are numerous of such visits, to leaders of PDP, APC, why are others not being mentioned but Jonathan?” he asked.
