Amaechi, Northern govs unaware of party

Barely 24 hours after seven Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors were linked with moves to float a new party to be known as Voice of the People, VOP, many of the governors have denied knowledge of such a move.

THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE, VOP FOUNDERS

Most of the governors, who were contacted by Vanguard, yesterday, expressed shock over the linkage of their names with the new association, insisting that it was the handiwork of detractors, aimed at distracting them.

While Amaechi, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Mr Tony Okocha, described the reported formation of VOP as mere speculation, four of his colleagues, said the purported formation of VOP was the figment of their detractors’ imagination.

Contacted on the development, the Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, said the reported formation of VOP was news to him, as he read about it on the pages of newspapers.

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“The so-called formation of a new party by seven PDP governors, including Nyako, is news to us,” Nyako’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmed Sajoh, told Vanguard.

He said Nyako was not even aware of the floating of VOP, as he would have spoken about it at a stakeholders’ forum he had with a cross section of the people of the state on Sunday in Yola.

“Those who are linking Governor Nyako with the VOP are doing that deliberately to cause confusion and distraction from the real issues that should help the PDP out of self-inflicted problems.

Reacting to the development, Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, said he was not going to leave the PDP for any other party, having laboured over the years to make it a strong party.

Wamakko, who reacted through his Special Adviser on Media, Abubakar Dangusa, said it was uncharitable for his enemies to continue to cook up stories in the media just to blackmail him and cause unnecessary distraction in the polity.

The Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Aliyu Babangida, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Dandali Ndayebo, described the purported quitting of PDP for another party as baseless and a calculated attempt by his traducers to further heat up the polity.

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfata Ahmed, denied knowledge of the formation of VOP, saying that as a loyal and committed member of the PDP he could not have veered off the radar to float another party.

Also denying leaving the PDP for any other party, the governor of Kano State, Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso, said that it was unthinkable for him to leave the party he had worked tirelessly for many years, for an association.

In the same vein, his Jigawa counterpart, who is being rumoured of nursing a presidential ambition, said he was still in the PDP and that he was not involved in the formation of any new party.

Lamido made his position known through his Director of Press, Mr. Kyari Umar.

Meantime, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has denied knowledge of any application by the governors for the registration of VOP.

VOP hasn’t approached INEC for registration —Jega

The Commission said, yesterday, that it was not aware of any new party called Voice of the People, VOP, being floated by seven governors. The commission said the parties concerned were yet to contact INEC.

Speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, said there was no information whatsoever on VOP in INEC records at the moment.

VANGUARD