- Senator Dariye said he was not interested in defecting from the All Progressives Congress
- The ex-governor says President Buhari and the APC are not behind his current predicament and he remains with the party
- He urged his supporters to throw their weight behind Buhari and Lalong to ensure their re-election in 2019
An APC senator and former governor of Plateau state Joshua Dariye has denied plans to defect to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Nigerian Tribune reports that Dariye, who spoke from prison through a representative, said he was not going back to the PDP nor withdrawing his supporters.
According to Dariye’s associate - his former Director General Campaign and stalwart of the All Progressive Congress in the state - Maichibi Vwarji, reports of defection were mere rumours. He added that Senator Dariye did not hold Buhari or the APC responsible for his current predicament.
“I am aware that some people are going around the state especially Plateau Central senatorial district that they have the mandate of the former Governor Joshua Dariye that all his followers should defect to the PDP. I want to categorically state that Senator Dariye has not given anyone such mandate.
“It is a rumour, I am in constant touch with him, I was with him recently and after I intimated him with the rumour, he mandated me and his other associates to go round the state and debunk the speculations and to tell them that they should all remain in All Progressive Congress and work for the re-election of both the President Buhari and Governor Lalong of Plateau State.” .
He added: “When I met him recently along with two other people, this issue was tabled before him. He strongly condemned the insinuation that the present administration was behind his predicament and has done nothing to help him out of the situation. He stated that the matter was dated to when he was the governor of the state and directed us as his close associates to enlighten his followers and remained in APC.
“You cannot rule out the possibility that some of his followers were annoyed by the judgement but the fact still remains that the APC led government has nothing to do with his travail,” 
Nigerian Tribune reports that despite being sentenced for 14 years in jail by a Federal High Court in Abuja, the ex-governor remained a force to be reckoned with in Plateau politics.
The APC has also denied any defection plans. The scribe of the ruling party in Plateau state Alhaji Bashir Sati said the reports were just imaginations.
He said: “The party is not aware of such threat. Just last week we rounded up local government tour, we were in Bokkos Local government which is the council area of the former governor. What they told us was that they are missing him and we assured that all hope is not lost.
“We are not aware that anyone is making it an issue, we told them to remain calm and keep faith with the judiciary. We have the confidence that justice will be done to the case.”
It Means 24blog.com.ng reported earlier that no fewer than hundreds of Jigawa state residents on Sunday, August 12 protested in the streets of Hadejia local government area against the recent defection of Senator Ubale Shitu from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The protesters moved in a procession all the way to the emir’s palace chanting against the federal lawmaker and accusing him of being a thief for rejecting President Buhari and APC.
At the emir’s palace, they demanded Shitu’s resignation from the National Assembly.