February 14, (THEWILL) – Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state, under the aegis of Plateau PDP Intelligence Group, have berated the former governor of the state, Senator Jonah Jang, for insisting that the G-5 Governors have not agreed to support the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in next week’s presidential election and that the Director General of Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council and the Governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong, lied over the purported support.
In a letter to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state by the Plateau PDP Intelligence Group, titled: ‘Jonah Jang: Still Playing Double Game at Old Age’, and signed by its Coordinator, Clinton Bagat, the group excoriated Jang for betraying the decision of G5 to support Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“We crave your understanding to communicate to you in this manner hoping you’ll agree with us that it is imperative due to the urgency required in drawing your attention to a brazen case of betrayal in your fold by a former governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang.
“Sir, permit us to appreciate your commitment and sacrifice to nation-building through your efforts to ensure that Nigeria deserves a better deal through equity and justice in the allocation of political offices.
“Rest assured that you have won the admiration of many with your great courage and fearlessness as encapsulated in your ‘pepper them’ stance which upholds saying the truth at all times no matter whose ox is gored and this you have amply demonstrated by your insistence that political positions must not only be rotated among the various divides in the country, but must at any given time, reflect the federal character”, the letter stated.
It went further to tell Wike, “As you strive to purify our democracy of prebendalism and to ensure that the right things are done which led to your disagreement with the PDP hierarchy and consequently the formation of the Integrity Group also known as G-5, there are some within your camp whose commitment to this just cause is in doubt as they are playing a double game with you by pretending they are with you while trying to throw away all the efforts you’re making in this regard.
“Foremost in this category is the former governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang, who pretends to be with you in the daytime, but fights you at night with his selfish and unfortunate agenda”.
The letter also explained that Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State had at a campaign rally in Wase Local Government Area of the state, had cause to draw the attention of the people to the principle Wike is fighting for and made reference to what the Rivers state governor and all the G-5 governors are doing to ensure power shifts from the North to the South.
“But to the shock of many, Jang took umbrage at this popular acclamation and in a gasping epiphany, revealed that he is not in support of that acclamation and that he is in bed with the same forces you are up against. Subsequently and in total betrayal of your celebrated stand on national cohesion and integration, Jang issued a statement countering Lalong, telling the world point blankly that he is not with you in your bid to restore equity and justice in the polity and that he is one hundred percent for Atiku Abubakar, Iyorchia Ayu and Aminu Tambuwal who threw you under the bus to achieve their selfish aims.
“For admiring what you and the G-5 stand for, Jang became angry and took it personally with Lalong calling him all sorts of names and worst of all, exposing himself as not worthy of the trust and respect you have accorded him.
“Sir, you have travelled this far to ensure equity and justice in the polity only for you to be betrayed by the very people you’ve been trying very hard to sustain and restore to political relevance with your hard-earned resources and valuable time?
“Instead of staying the course of the G-5 position, which he pretends to support at the national level and on national television, the former governor is singing a different tune in Plateau State, in a classical case of doublespeak”, the group alleged.
The Group went further to say that “those familiar with the antics of the former military administrator are, however, not surprised, as he has in the past demonstrated the same trait of inconsistency when he left the PDP after losing at the primary in 1999 and joined the now defunct ANPP, swearing never to return to the PDP, only to abandon his supporters in the ANPP when he saw an opportunity to grab the PDP ticket in the build-up to 2007 and quickly ate his vomit.”
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
