…Bauchi speaker too
A former Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, and Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa have dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The chairman of the opposition PDP in the state, retired Colonel Bala Mande, made the announcement shortly after a stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau, the state capital, on Sunday.
Col. Bala Mande said they had sat down and finalised the issue of the defection of Yari and Marafa and they had reached an agreement to work for the development of the party.
“We have all agreed to work for the development of the party and the PDP in the state has welcomed them to its fold. We will ensure justice and fairness to all members even after we have won elections in 2023.
“The date for their grand reception to our party will be announced later but we are going to implement all the agreements reached during the stakeholders’ meeting,” Col. Mande said.
The chairman, Publicity Secretary of Yari faction of the APC, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad Birnin Magaji, confirmed the development to Daily Trust but did not give further details.
“Yes, it is true we are moving to opposition PDP, and this is all I can say for now,” Birnin Magaji said.
Yari and Marafa lost control of Zamfara APC after Governor Bello Matawalle defected to the party last year.
In 2019, Marafa teamed up with other APC heavyweights in the state to form a political alliance called Group 8, which opposed the candidature of Mukhtar Shehu Idris, anointed by Yari.
After INEC had declared Idris as the winner of the governorship election in the state, Marafa challenged the victory in court on the ground that APC did not conduct primary elections in the state. The Supreme Court thereafter nullified the victory of Yari’s anointed candidate and all other seats won by APC.
However, Yari and Marafa reconciled and formed a common front to challenge Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle after |APC national leadership handed over the party structure to the governor following his defection from PDP to APC last year.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman, has defected from APC to the ruling PDP in the state.
He represents Ningi constituency in the state assembly.
Sulaiman, who is also the Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, announced his defection at a Ramadan iftar dinner hosted by Governor Bala Mohammed in Bauchi on Saturday night.
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