Mohammed
Abacha, son of former military dictator Sani Abacha, yesterday's
announcement that he was rejoining the Bamanga Tukur faction of the
Peoples Democratic Party has confirmed report of a deal between President Goodluck Jonathan and family/ associates of the late military ruler.
Mr.
Abacha’s declaration of support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015
presidential bid runs counter to the agitation by many Northern members
of the PDP for political power to shift to the region in 2015.
A
central figure in the deal is Abacha’s erstwhile Chief Security
Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha. Mr. Al-Mustapha’s murder conviction
was recently set aside by a controversial appellate court decision.
Earlier,
a high court had found Mr. Mustapha guilty of ordering the
assassination of Mrs. Abiola, wife of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, the
winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election that was annulled by
then Head of State Ibrahim Babangida. SaharaReporters had disclosed that
the former CSO’s conviction was overturned as part of a deal with the
Abacha family. Since his release, Mr. Al-Mustapha has been mobilizing
underground support for President Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid.
A
source revealed that the Abacha family and Mr. Al-Mustapha have been
mobilizing their resources, associates and connections to woo supporters
to line up behind Mr. Jonathan. The source declared that yesterday’s
decision by Mohammed Abacha to rejoin the PDP was the culmination of the
deal.
“Mohammed’s
action today is an indication that the Abacha family, including his
widow, has confirmed its commitment to Mr. Jonathan,” said a close
associate of Mohammed Abacha.
He
defended Mr. Abacha’s decision, stating, “President Goodluck [Jonathan]
has shown more trust to them than all these key northerners [who are]
pretending. See how Abdulsalami Abubakar treated them, up to Obasanjo.
Where
was Babangida and all these northerners?” He continued: “See what
happened to Hamza Al-Mustapha. Who implicated him and all the associates
of Abacha? It was Jonathan that influenced Al-Mustapha’s freedom; it
was the same men that honored Abacha as the Head of State that created
Bayelsa State. It was the same Jonathan that freed the Abacha's from
many traps, which I cannot mention for now.” He stated that the Abachas’
demonstration of their commitment to Jonathan “has just started.”
Since
his release from jail, Mr. Al-Mustapha has been meeting and associating
with staunch supporters of President Jonathan, including Asari Dokubo.
Mr. Mohammed Abacha’s speech yesterday made clear his involvement in Mr.
Jonathan’s 2015 bid.
“When
I left the PDP in 2010, my view was that it had no internal democracy,
but in CPC, the experience was ...very bitter. There was a major issue
that challenged all of us while in the PDP but we met it in a bigger and
more huge manner in the party we went to. The APC today is not an
option.”
Mr.
Abacha added: “With the new NWC and the chairman coupled with the
efforts they have been making to ensure that the party is taken to the
next level, that was what enticed us. We have consulted as far and as
wide as we could and this resulted in us taking the decision to come
back to the PDP instead of going somewhere else.
“PDP
is widespread and covers every part of the country and it is the party
that is in power; it is the party that has made the change that we are
witnessing today in our country and which we hope we will continue to
witness in the coming years by the Grace of God.”
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