By Ismaila Chafe
Former Governor of the old Borno State, Mohammed Goni, says he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) due to respect he has for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Goni, who governed old Borno from 1979 to 1983, said this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
The former governor, who was part of the North East delegation that met behind closed doors with President Buhari, said his defection was also informed by the achievements of the president, particularly in the area of security as relative peace had returned to the northeast.
Goni, who was PDP governorship candidate in 2011 general elections, said: “I know the President very well; I was the council Secretary when he was Governor of North-East. He is a performer.
“We want the President to continue, we don’t want him to go because if he goes, the insurgency will not end, if a new person comes, the process will start all over.
“The way he is handling that problem now, shows he is energetic and committed to the course.
“ So, he needs time to consolidate what he has done. It is important to keep him in office for two consecutive terms.’’
Umar Bukar Bolori, who led the delegation, said the country needed someone like President Buhari for speedy transformation of the nation’s economy.
He said: “The issue is not on whether a Northerner is leading the country or not, it doesn’t matter. We need somebody who can actually deliver the goods.
“We witnessed what happened when Abubakar Atiku was the Vice President of this country; basically he was the defector President in the first term of former President (Obaanjo) but nothing to show in the entire North-East
“ We have confidence in Buhari and that is why we are now with him,” Bolori said.(NAN)
