Labaran Maku Gets APGA Guber Ticket, Criticises PDP

A former minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has finally secured the gubernatorial ticket of the All Progressives G​rand ​A​lliance (APGA), and immediately accused his former colleagues from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of injustice, PremiumTimes reports.

Maku joined the APGA after suffering a defeat from Yusuf Agabi, who scored 214 votes to emerge the winner of the PDP gubernatorial primary in Nasarawa State.

He also tried to attempted to secure the gubernatorial ticket of the Labour Party, but was unsuccessful.

The ex minister explained his attitude to his former party, the PDP, during his presentation as the APGA gubernatorial candidate in Nasarawa State capital, Lafia.

Maku said the ruling party had rejected his candidature because of sentiments, adding that he dumped the PDP because of the irregularities and injustice that transpired during the primaries.

“I opted out in order to seek for justice​,​​​​​”​ the ex minister explained.​

He assured he was happy to work with the APGA, which he believed would win the state in February.

If elected, Maku further promised a transformation for Nasarawa, where every tribe and religion would have ​equal rights and opportunities. He also named Ibrahim Abu, an Alago man from Obi LGA, as his running mate.

The former minister narrated about the obstacles being put by his grand political opponents, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP, saying they worked to ensure he would not get APGA’s ticket by threatening the leadership of the party in Nasarawa.

“The struggle to ensure that I did not become candidate of APGA is emanating from Government House in Lafia. There is no place they have not gone, they have threatened APGA leadership in the state.

“They (the APC and the PDP) know more than anybody that when it comes to vision, to leadership, to capacity to express that vision and mobilize to get people moving, they know I have the capacity and that is why they are all jittery,” he said.

Maku further concluded being on a rescue mission for the state.

The state chairman of APGA, John Amakor, has officially confirmed that Labaran Maku is the undisputed bearer of the party for the February 28 governorship election. He said the APGA picked the ex Minister of Information due to Maku’s vast wealth of experience and political clout.