Dutse — Alhaji Nasiru Garba Dantiye, former member of the House of Representatives, has described as baseless some rumours making the round in the state that he has defected from the ANPP to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

Speaking to Daily Trust at the weekend, Dantiye said the rumour was based on his membership of the committee of the Amirul-Hajj in the last Hajj exercise which other opposition parties had also been part of in the last eight years.

"Whenever I hear people say that I have decamped to the PDP, I laugh. But usually when you are in politics there are people who want to see your downfall. Even when you fall, there are those who want to see you dead and buried and even if you die some will still smear your name," Dantiye said.

"I don't know what people make of principles. I don't know what has changed in this country to possibly make me romance with the PDP. Mind you I sacrificed my going back to the National Assembly because I don't believe in the principles of the PDP. I sacrificed financially when I was offered N50 million during the third term saga of the Obasanjo regime because of principle. In fact I was even offered $1 million through my friend over the third term issue which I turned down because of my principles," he stressed.

Dantiye argued that in the last eight years PDP had offered opposition parties a slot in the committee of the Amirul-Hajj on a yearly basis.