Dariye not running for Senate under Labour Party - Aide says

The aide, who does not want his name on print, told this writer on Thursday, August 11, 2022, on phone, that the former governor will concentrate on reuniting with his family which he has left behind for four years and two months.

Recall that some online platforms have reported that the Labour Party has concluded plans to receive the former governor on his return from Abuja to pick the Party's senatorial form.

Responding, Dariye's aide said it will not be easy for his principal to just return and join politics, saying that Dariye has lost a lot of loved ones while he was in incarceration.

"He lost his father while he was in prison and as the first son, he is not happy that he was not present at the burial. Since he was released he has been informed of the death of most of his loyalists and this is equally very traumatic for him.

"So with all this I am not sure he will have time for politics. I was with him throughout yesterday and he did not discuss anything concerning joining the Labour Party or any other party.

"I can tell you that I am 80 per cent sure that he will not be contesting any election.

"As a human he might decide to change his mind, but for now I doubt very much that he will be doing politics", he said.

He, however, revealed that Dariye will be in Jos by next week to thank his supporters and loyalists who had stood by him all these years.

Pulse recalls that Dariye, who served as a governor under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected from the party in 2011 and then contested and won a senatorial seat on the platform of the Labour Party and in 2014, he defected back to the PDP, re-contested and won the Senate for the second time and in 2016, he defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

Dariye was however sentenced to 14 years in prison on June 12, 2018, after being prosecuted by the EFCC for N1.16 billion fraud.

He had only spent four years and two months in prison before he was granted pardon by the Nigerian council of state.