Yabo: No Plan to Dump APC

* Women protest imposition of candidate

By Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto

The defeated All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Sokoto State, Alhaji Faruk Malami Yabo, Tuesday said he has no plans to leave the APC despite losing the primary election.

Yabo was defeated by the Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu, in the APC governorship primary election in the state Monday.

Addressing journalists at his residence in Sokoto, Yabo said he had no reason to dump President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.

He maintained that his defeat in the governorship primary election would not deter him from ensuring that the right thing was done in the party.

Yabo said a committee was currently investigating the governorship primary election in the state and would soon make its decision known as events unfold.

“As far as I am concerned, there is no plan at the moment to defect to another party. I am still a loyal member of the APC.

“I will only make my position known as soon as the committee concludes its investigation on the primary election.

“This is a Sokoto project and I will continue to pursue it irrespective of the outcome of the primary election.

“I am determined to follow a legitimate path to ensure that Sokoto is better than what it is today,” Yabo said.

He commended party supporters especially women for their patience and steadfastness and promised not to abandon them.

Meanwhile, hundreds of women have protested the emergence of the deputy governor as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state.

The women, who marched through Sama road in the Sokoto metropolis, chanting in Hausa “Bamu so Aliyu” meaning “We don’t want Aliyu, expressed their anger over the imposition of the state deputy governor as the party’s governorship candidate.

The leader of the group, who spoke to journalists under the condition of anonymity, described the governorship primary election as a sham.

She blamed Senator Aliyu Wamakko for imposing an incompetent and unpopular governorship candidate on the party in the state.

“It is sad and unfortunate that Senator Wamakko imposed the deputy governor on us rather than Faruk Yabo for the governorship election.

“I am afraid that APC may lose the forthcoming election in the state,” she said.