Former President Goodluck Jonathan has opened up on accusation being circulated over media that he worked against his party, the PDP in the recent governorship election that took place in Bayelsa to save his neck from issues surrounding Malabu oil scandal.
Jonathan described the claim as mischievous and a calculated attempt to smear his hard-earned name.
The former President was reacting to, Sule Lamido, the former Governor of Jigawa state who stated in an interview that Jonathan treaded off the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa state was an effort to save his neck from being prosecuted by President Buhari over Malabu oil deal.
Lamido had claimed that the Federal government had continued to hold onto the Malabu oil deal as an instrument of blackmail and have cleverly used it against Jonathan into supporting All Progressive Congress (APC).
However, Jonathan in his statement through his media spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze said, Lamido did not speak like a statesman describing his claim as baseless.
The statement partly reads; “Ordinarily, we shouldn’t be responding to an interview of this nature because it is obvious, given his amiable nature, former president Jonathan does not consider the idea of joining issues with individuals on the pages of newspapers a decent conduct.
“We are also aware of the former president’s belief that truth always has a way of catching up with statements rooted in lies and propaganda, such as this one. Furthermore, we considered that when former president Jonathan was in office, Lamido was one of the governors that worked closely with him.
He added, “We really do not know why Lamido, chose to speak like he did, especially with such
Hostility, contempt, and lies against former president Jonathan.
“In one breathe, Lamido alleged Jonathan worked against his party ‘because he was very, very angry with (governor) Dickson,’ in another, he claimed it was ‘because he (Jonathan) knows his problem with Buhari and his government. And the issue of Malabu, I think, played a key role’.
“This absurd claim definitely would have gained more traction in the public space if it really made any sense. But it didn’t.
The statement added, “Jonathan is convinced that Lamido’s awkward intervention in this matter was deliberately designed as a form of blackmail. Having tried many other ways to discredit the former president to no avail, Lamido is now scheming to project Malabu as Jonathan’s Achilles heel.
“Lamido, we believe, is too smart not to realise when the pot conveniently calls the kettle black, it is a grand design to confuse, deceive and cover up the truth, Jonathan revealed.
