2015: Wali carpets Lamido over Jonathan’s endorsement

From Muhammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali has carpeted Governor Sule Lamido over his rejection of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) North-West recent endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term.

Wali who doubles as the Chairman of the Communiqué Drafting Committee, said there is no going back on the zone’s earlier endorsement of the President, even with the rejection from Governor Lamido.

It would be recalled that the PDP North-West stakeholders endorsed the president and his vice at a meeting held at Gen. Hassan Katsina House, Kawo Kaduna penultimate Sunday.

Ambassador Wali however frowned at the reversal by the Jigawa Governor who was adequately represented by his deputy at the meeting.

He explained that the resolution was part of decisions of the party which started from the state level to the zonal level which Jigawa state was represented through the deputy governor, wondering the reason behind the denial.

“Our attention has been drawn to a publication widely circulated in the media purported to have emanated from the Jigawa State Governor challenging the resolution of our expanded stakeholders meeting where in he claimed that Jigawa State was not part of the resolution.

“It is against this backdrop that we deemed it necessary to clear the air on this and other sundry issues raised by the Deputy Governor in his press briefing at his office in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state.

“Let me firmly and explicitly state that the decision to hold the expanded stakeholders meeting was a culmination of several meetings held amongst the key stakeholders of the zone and Jigawa state was always represented by the deputy governor in such meetings. It was also agreed at such fora that each state must first hold its stakeholders meeting before the expanded meeting, which we believe was complied with by each state chapter of the party,” he said.

The statement further added that the outcome of the meetings by the state chapters gave rise to the North-West Zone meeting.

“The expanded stakeholders resolved to urge President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for the office of the President come 2015. This decision was the position of the majority of the stakeholders present at the meeting,” he said.

Ambassador Aminu Wali was directed to read the Communique and make it public as prepared and submitted by the party at the zonal meeting.

“Therefore, for the Deputy Governor to return to Jigawa state and to summon a press conference dissociating himself and the Jigawa State Governor from the communiqué is an afterthought and rather very unfortunate.

“We have no atom of idea as to the reason for such denial we therefore find it necessary to put the record straight by confirming that we stand by the contents and outcome of our communiqué” he stated.