Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko yesterday said he has the support of President Jonathan in his second term bid, contrary to reports that the president was plotting to edge him out of the race for the PDP's ticket in the December 17 primaries.'The President is my very good friend. I and he were together for six years before he became governor of Bayelsa State. And when he became vice president, I also became governor. Even last week, the President called me, saying, 'governor, all what you have been hearing is rubbish. I'm not with anybody in Sokoto to come and fight you,'' Wamakko told journalists in Abuja, in response to questions on his relationship with the president.The governor, who spoke at the PDP secretariat when he went to submit his nomination forms for the primaries, said he was not threatened by the entrance of Sports Minister Yusuf Suleiman and Senator Abubakar Gada into the race for PDP's ticket.Asked to react to Gada's remarks that he would defeat him in free and fair primaries, he said: 'I'm not going to speak about Gada because he is not worth being spoken about.'On whether the entrance of Suleiman threatens his ambition, Wamakko said, 'We are in a democracy. Even you (journalists) can pick forms. It doesn't have to be a minister. Anybody can pick forms if he so wishes. It's a normal process.'Commenting on the allegations of anti-party activities against him by some party members who accused him of supporting the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Zamfara State in the last general elections, Wamakko said: 'I hope you will look at the record and judge by yourself. We are the only state in Nigeria that is 100 per cent for PDP. In Sokoto, no single court case after the elections because we believe in peace, transparency and good governance.'I told you earlier, we have weak politicians who believe in getting power through blackmail, intimidation and name dropping....But in Nigeria, people go into politics without preparedness to abide by the rules of politics. If you want to serve your people, you don't need to blackmail. It is basically supposed to be politicking.'Thousands of supporters accompanied Wamakko to the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the PDP, and forced themselves through the main gate before going on to break glasses at the entry point to the reception office.Meanwhile, Gada also submitted his nomination forms for the primaries at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja yesterday. Gada, who was at the secretariat shortly after Wamakko had left, told reporters that his entrance into the Sokoto governorship race was meant to arrest years of backwardness of the incumbent administration.He advised Wamakko to focus on issues in his campaign and tell the people of Sokoto State how he spent the billions of naira he collected from the federation account.
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