DESPITE conviction by the Federal High Court Abuja, there are strong indications that former Governor of Plateau State serving 14 years jail term in Kuje prison remains a force to be reckoned with in Plateau politics as the former governor has directed his followers and associates to support the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.
There is a rumour doing the round the state that Senator Dariye who ruled the state between 1999 and 2007 has directed his followers and associates to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party in protecting of the inability of the APC led the government to give him a soft landing.
A political associate of the former governor who was his former Director General Campaign and stalwart of the All Progressive Congress in the state, Chief Maichibi Vwarji stated that the speculation doing the round that followers of Senator Dariye are set to dump APC in protest of his jail term was figment of their imaginations adding that some people in the state simply want to catch on the unfortunate situation for cheap political gain.
“I am aware that some people are going around the state especially Plateau Central senatorial district that they have the mandate of the former Governor Joshua Dariye that all his followers should defect to the PDP. I want to categorically state that Senator Dariye has not given anyone such mandate.
“It is a rumour, I am in constant touch with him, I was with him recently and after I intimated him with the rumour, he mandated me and his other associates to go round the state and debunk the speculations and to tell them that they should all remain in All Progressive Congress and work for the re-election of both the President Buhari and Governor Lalong of Plateau State,” he said.
He narrated that the present predicament of Senator Joshua Dariye was dated back to when he was the governor of Plateau State adding the present administration did not institute any suit against him.
“When I met him recently along with two other people, this issue was tabled before him. He strongly condemned the insinuation that the present administration was behind his predicament and has done nothing to help him out of the situation. He stated that the matter was dated to when he was the governor of the state and directed us as his close associates to enlighten his followers and remained in APC.
“You cannot rule out the possibility that some of his followers were annoyed by the judgement but the fact still remains that the APC led government has nothing to do with his travail,” he said.
Chief Vwarji said political structures of Senator Dariye is still intact adding that the insinuations were diversionary and ploy to cause confusion within APC family in Plateau State.
In a swift reaction, the Secretary of APC in Plateau State Alhaji Bashir Sati said it was a figment of some people imagine that followers of the former governor have concluded arrangement to dump the party.
“The party is not aware of such threat. Just last week we rounded up local government tour, we were in Bokkos Local government which is the council area of the former governor. What they told us was that they are missing him and we assured that all hope is not lost.
“We are not aware that anyone is making it an issue, we told them to remain calm and keep faith with the judiciary. We have the confidence that justice will be done to the case” he said
and then