N100m not part of Yari, Marafa’s APC peace deal in Zamfara – Jaji

A former governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara state, Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji has dispelled claims that a former governor of the state, Abdullazeez Yari, gave the Senator Kabiru Marafa-led defunct faction of the party N100 million to collapse its structure into the mainstream APC in the state.

Jaji, a former Chairman, House Committee on Internal Security who was a key player in the Marafa’s faction told newsmen in Abuja, that the claim was a campaign of calumny aimed at de-marketing the APC in the state ahead of the 2023 elections.

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The Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Convention had last week, invited and reconciled Yari and Marafa at the APC National Secretary, putting an end to the long-standing feud over the control of party structure in the state.

Jaji, while refuting the N100 million claim, said the Kabiru faction sheathed its sword to allow peace to reign in the state chapter of the party and enable the APC reclaim power in the next election.

He explained that during the meeting with the national leadership of the party, it was agreed that Yari remained the APC leader in the state, while Marafa was requested to withdraw his pending litigation in court and collapse his structure into the mainstream.

“They know that Zamfara is not for PDP. It’s just a matter of time. They know that in the 2023 general election, the governor and all his appointees would be sent packing.

“Going by the 2019 general elections, the PDP got 180,000 votes, including the protest votes while the APC got almost 600,000 votes. I can say confidently that we are going to take it because instead of our people to decamp to the PDP, it is the PDP supporters that are decamping to the APC.

“So you can see we are already reducing the 180,000 votes scored by the PDP even before 2023. As we speak the protest votes is no longer there because we are now united and working as a family.

“So the PDP is in power in Zamfara not because it was based on the peoples mandate. They are there because the court mandated them to be in power. It’s just a court mandate they are enjoying for now,” he said.