Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Plateau State, Dr. Haruna Dabin has berated Governor Simon Lalong for abandoning members of the party who collapsed their campaign structure to enable him win the 2015 governorship election.

Dabin stated this in a chat with our correspondent in Jos, on the position of the PDP in the Governor Simon Lalong- led government under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Recall that a fraction of the PDP governorship aspirants, who felt aggrieved with the immediate past governor, Jonah Jang, for manipulating the gubernatorial primary election to favour his preferred candidate, took a move and formed the Reformed PDP and consequently collapsed their structure to work for the then opposition in favour of Governor Lalong, who was then an aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Dabin, “when he won the election as Governor elect, we went as a group to congratulate him (aggrieved PDP members), the elected Governor Lalong told us that he was very busy at the moment with a lot of people coming to congratulate him but that he will rather fix appropriate time for him to seat with us in other to discuss governance. But I think he rather said that to whisk us away because that was the last time we ever set our eyes on him”, he said.

Dr. Dabin is also quoted saying that, “Lalong was busy trying to run an APC government, which is very wrong, because there is no APC in Plateau. Even Lalong and the APC State Chairman, do not have the APC membership card before the governorship election. I want to challenge them to show us their membership card before the election.

“Having won the election, I expected of him to rally round support, rather they were busy giving the impression that they want to run an APC government. I have made my personal opinion, which I have said, if Lalong who said he was going to consult us has refused to do so, which means there is no room for some of us who are PDP members in his government after all we have done for him.

“We are also surprised that in all the appointments he has made so far, he has not appointed one single PDP member. I am waiting to see the policy focus of this government. The 2016 budget he presented, is neither here nor there. Well, if at the national level we are not having a very clear focus, how much less at the state”, Dabin stated.

The former PDP Chairman, however, stated that PDP will bounce back even as the Party congress is under way to elect credible candidates that will pilot the affairs of the party to redeeming its past glory.

count | 1244

Dabin berates Lalong for abandoning PDP members who facilitated his victory in 2015