Dr Babayo Liman, the former North-East Zonal Secretary of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Liman, while addressing his supporters at a press conference in Jalingo, Taraba State, stated that the NNPP’s presidential candidate, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, lacked the structure to rule Nigeria, hence his decision to help Atiku Abubakar win the February 25 presidential election.
“The NNPP lacks the structure to win elections. I have seen PDP as a vehicle to deliver Nigeria from the numerous challenges facing citizens. The PDP and Atiku have a structure that can win elections.
“Atiku was part of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government that recorded numerous achievements. For instance, during the PDP administration, insecurity was only in three states, now it’s everywhere. Poverty was not this much, that’s why I am following Atiku.
“Kwankwaso has proven that he can’t address the needs and yearnings of Nigerians. If he cannot handle the internal crisis in the NNPP with only 30 executives, how can he handle Nigeria with over 200 million people?
“Even among the executives, only four of us were active, the remaining members were ghosts and we never saw them, so how can such a party win elections?” he queried.
The former NNPP chieftain said as part of traditions, it was necessary for him to inform his supporters of his defection and his next move.
When asked about when he discovered that the NNPP and Kwankwaso were not the solutions to Nigeria, Liman said Kwankwaso lured them into the NNPP because of their popularity and support base in the region, but his inability to solve internal issues of the party was a clear indication that he was not ready to rule Nigeria.