A member of the Northern Elders Forum, Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura, at the weekend accused Northern governors of selling themselves to President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 presidential election.

Zangon Daura, a former Minister of Agriculture and later Environment, who participated in a Liberty Radio live programme which SaharaReporters monitored online in New York, blasted the chair of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, the Niger State Governor and other Northern governors. He told them to “shut up” as they were the ones that mortgaged Northern Nigeria to President Jonathan on the platter of gold for their egos comprising that of the region in 2011.

He said, “If at that time the Northern Governors said to Jonathan, ‘No Mr. President, you have completed tenure of your boss now back out to the North,’ (Jonathan) wouldn’t have contested, because he has no power over delegates. So for Governor Muázu Babangida Aliyu to even come out and be talking, he is wrong, because they sold themselves first, now he has no mouth.”

He also blasted Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over his outburst that Jonathan should run in 2015, saying, “I am not surprised because he has no option than to do it, he was rejected in the race [for chairmanship of the party] and was brought through arm-twisting of power. I am not in any way surprised if he compromised.”

Daura added that it could also be to save himself from several crises he is presently in, as his son is now being prosecuted in respect of fuel subsidy theft and shady deals that Tukur is calling on Jonathan to run in 2015.

He described Tukur as a complete failure, a man who was deserted by governors in his reconciliation moves, and that no genuine democrat have confidence in him, concluding, “I will continue praying that he (Tukur) continue making mistakes, so that the whole party (PDP) will be out of the way.”