Posted by From Ahamefula Ogbu in Jos on
Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye yesterday said that the same sycophants that hijacked the late military leader, General Sani Abacha, have also hijacked President Olusegun Obasanjo.
* Fani-Kayode: Dariye's No.1 on the list
Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye yesterday said that the same sycophants that hijacked the late military leader, General Sani Abacha, have also hijacked President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But the President's Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode said Dariye himself must be the number one sycophant since he was until recently one of Obasanjo's ardent loyalists.
Receiving the North Central delegation of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that had come to commiserate with him over his suspension from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dariye called for prayers for the success of Obasanjo's programmes. Dariye was suspended from the PDP last Friday until he gets a clean bill of health from the litigations involving money-laundering allegations. The governor had said weekend that nobody can chase him out of the party he helped build.
'My prayer is that may God deliver our President from sycophants because the same people that hijacked Abacha have hijacked our President again. We should pray to God to deliver him", Dariye told the CAN delegation yesterday.
Dariye who vowed not to allow a repeat of the destruction that led to the imposition of emergency rule in Plateau state warned politicians not to do anything that could lead to a breakdown of law and order. In 2004, Obasanjo imposed a six-month emergency rule on Plateau State following communo-religious violence that spilled over to other states in the north.
'The interest of Plateau comes before every other interest. The mandate you gave me is to protect everybody, Christians and non- Christians. I will not allow a repeat of what happened in 2004 where they had a field day because if the problem comes, it will consume even the righteous and we are not ready to allow that.
'Ask the people not to give them their votes; they are worse than Sudan because they have not hidden their agenda. All the churches, mosques and poor man's houses have been destroyed and yet they are living comfortably in air-conditioned houses. We should not allow them to use tribe and religion to divide us", he said.
The governor noted that voting in troublemakers was akin to denigrating the death of Christ and crucifying him for the second time and therefore called on electorates to elect only those who have their interests at heart.
Dariye reiterated his loyalty to Obasanjo who he said means well, pointing out that his commitment and respect to the President was not a mark of cowardice but respect to constituted authority as contained in Romans 3:1.
'I must continue to say he is my President any day and time. It is not party that unites us with the President, he was constitutionally elected; so whether I am in PDP or not, he is still my President because the agenda is Nigeria", he said.
Dariye regretted that political office holders from the State were working at cross purposes, adding that if all of them use their closeness to the President to attract and complete projects in the state, development would be faster.
Going religious, Dariye said that his detractors were put on a slippery ground by God in accordance with 'Psalm 25 and prayed that God would continue to shield him till the expiration of his tenure.
He said he was not afraid that the PDP would withdraw his membership registration, adding that 'I will be disturbed the day my baptismal certificate is withdrawn by the Church". He said that he would continue to survive as long as the electorates and God are on his side.
Speaking earlier, leader of the delegation Reverend Yakubu Pam, who publicly had an altercation with Obasanjo during the emergency rule, said they were pained by the decision to push Dariye out of the party. He prayed God to deliver the country from the group, which has been oppressing a lot of people.
The clergy said that CAN has adopted the six zonal arrangement, adding that he was elected chairman of the North-central with headquarters in Jos.
Later, Mr. Silas Janfa who was in Pam's entourage said that the formal launch of the chapter was slated for October 10, adding that Dariye is expected to grace the occasion with other governors from the zone.
In a swift response, Fani-Kayode told THISDAY in a telephone chat: 'Even as he (Dariye) is praying, we are also praying that the Lord should vindicate us in all that we are doing. And that the Lord should ensure that any son that has turned against his father should repent and come back and beg his father like the prodigal son rather than claiming that the President has been hijacked by anybody.
'Let Dariye tell us who are the sycphants and where are they. If he is saying that we, Baba's aides, are sycophants, then he must be the number one sycophant because until very recently, he was part of us.
'Dariye is a friend of mine and I have always have tremendous respect for him. He has access to Mr. President and he has access to all of us in the presidency. So, I am surprised that he is saying all this sort of things publicly. If he has anything to say, he should come and see us and we will listen to him. I am very surprised at him."