Crack Emerges in Niger APC Faction, as Members Disown Group

Laleye Dipo in Minna.

A crack has emerged in the faction of the All Progressive Congress (APC), which was born as a result of a parralel congress held last Saturday as some of those said to be part of the group and its elected officials have disowned the faction, saying they were never part of any rival parralel congress or faction.

The four party chieftains — Isyaku Abubakar Bosso (sheikh) from Bosso Local Government Area, Shittu Ibrahim (Gurara LGA), Yakubu Abubakar (Agwara LGA) and Jauro Mohammed (Tafa LGA) — who also held various positions in the now dissolved executive of their LGAs before Saturday’s congress, said they were at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre with the state governor and majority of APC members for the “original state congress”.

Addressing newsmen in Minna Sunday evening, they said two of them were delegates at the Legbo Kutigi congress and could not have been part of any parallel congress.

Speaking one after the other, the APC chieftains said though they had the intention of contesting for one position or the other, but when the positions “we wanted were zoned to other areas, we accepted the decisions of the stakeholders”.

“We couldn’t have gone against the decision of the majority in our local government areas because doing so will make us political orphans.

“We all supported the harmonized list presented for each local government area, we are therefore shocked when we heard our names on the local radio and the social media that we were part of a parralel congress, we belong to the original APC in Niger State,” they said.

They described the outcome of the congress held at the Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre “as the majority decision of our members”, adding that: “We have spoken with one voice, the people have spoken we should move on.”

The party leaders described the newly elected state chairman of the APC, Alhaji Haliru Zakari Jikantoro, as a tested and trusted politician, adding that with his vast experience, he will take the party to the promised land and therefore solicited for support and cooperation for him and others to succeed.

They pleaded with the new executive to ensure it carried everyone along in the running of the party, saying: “Even those that claim to be in another group should be invited. Let’s have dialogue with them to know what their problems are.”

Some members of the APC held their congress at a building located along Bay Clinic road in Minna on Saturday after they were denied the usage of the Abdulsalami Abubakar Youth Centre.

At the event, which lasted about one hour, Alhaji Nasiru Yusuf Ubandiya emerged the faction’s chairman.

The grouse of the group was that 30 of them that obtained form to contest were not screened by the screening committee which went on to present a harmonized list to the Congress Committee.