Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has said reports claiming he is involved in the current crisis plaguing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are false.
Naija News recalls that earlier reports claimed some sources are of the opinion that Governor Nyesom Wike and his loyalists are fighting the party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar because of Jonathan.
Speaking via a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan insisted that the aggrieved governors contrary to the reports are not doing anything because of him.
The erstwhile president insisted that he does not have battles to fight with anyone and wished that the PDP would settle its internal rift amicably.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to news media and social media reports linking former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s name to the current troubles in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with a false claim that the aggrieved PDP governors are demonstrating their loyalty to him. We would have ignored the strange tale since it is obviously baseless.
“However, we are offering this clarification because we have been reached by many Nigerians who are concerned that such fabrication with a vague and suspicious attribution could be given undeserved prominence on the front page of some national dailies.
“We are also not unmindful of the fact that this being an electioneering season, bizarre tales are often contrived, propagated and weaponized to either smear others or deliver cheap political advantage to the purveyors.”
Eze stated that his principal did not initially see anything wrong with the headlines in some papers as it is not out of place for a former president who served under the party to be called to set things in order.
However, he stated that some news publications were trying to mislead the public by dishing out information aimed at dividing the party further and also deceive the unsuspecting populace.
The media aide expressed his disappointment at some stories which claimed that the crisis in the PDP is orchestrated for President Jonathan and that he (Jonathan) is encouraging the G5 to behave the way they are doing.
Speaking further, Eze opined that such statements could not come from those who truly want the well-being of the party.
He argued that the sources of the story have a hidden agenda to further widen the rift in the party.
“How could anybody turn around in 2022 to accuse Jonathan of bearing a grudge against the PDP when the former President had campaigned vigorously for the party and its Presidential candidate during the 2019 elections?
Those who insinuate that Dr. Jonathan is not happy with the PDP’s Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, because of whatever roles he played ahead of the 2015 elections forget that the former President actively campaigned for Atiku in 2019, attending the flag off of his campaigns in Sokoto and subsequently participating in the campaigns in some states like Rivers and Bayelsa.
“The fact that Dr. Jonathan stood out as an exemplary politician who, throughout his political career, abhorred treachery and mean-mindedness, and played politics without bitterness, needs no gainsay,” the statement concluded.
