William Attah, Gombe
As prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State continue to resign their membership, the party has said that it is not bothered because all is set to receive thousands into its fold from the 114 electoral wards of the State.
Since December 2021, a handful of prominent APC members have resigned their membership of the ruling party.
Some of the prominent personalities that dumped the party are, Alhaji Jibrin Danbarde, a governorship aspirant of the party in 2019; Dr. Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna, a prominent figure during the 2019 APC campaigns; John Lazarus Yoriyo, a former Deputy Governor in the State and Malam Hamza Adamu Soye, immediate past Chairman of the State’s Sports Commission.
Others include Ibrahim Rambi Ayala, a member of the State House of Assembly; Yahya Bauchi Tongo, member of the House of Representatives and Abubakar Abubakar BD, a former House of Representatives member and grassroots politician.
But reacting to the defections, Mr. Moses Kyari, the party’s State Publicity Secretary said the APC is not bothered by the defections or defectors who he described as desperados for positions.
He said most of them are defecting because they want to contest one position or the other, an opportunity they cannot get in the APC.
According to him, plans have been concluded to go round all the eleven electoral wards of the State to receive defectors from other parties into the APC.
He said, the party had been strategising behind the scenes adding that, “a political party is just like a market where there are entry and exit points. If you are leaving, don’t cause confusion behind. Exit peacefully, we can’t stop you. If you are leaving today, 10 people are coming in, so why do we need to worry? The party has been strategizing behind the scenes”.
Mr. Kyari said, “the problem is that the opposition who had been in Government and know how sweet Government is, are desperate to come back, as such, they can go to any length to ensure that they come back”.
He said another reason why the party is not worried is because the greater masses are with the Government of Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, adding that the party does not have any cause to worry because, he stressed, its popularity was confirmed by the crowd that thronged the road from the airport to receive the Governor when he returned from abroad.
“That is where we get our confidence from, because as those ones are exiting, better ones are coming. Very soon, we will go round the 114 electoral wards of the State to receive defectors into our fold, in some of the wards, we have as much as 100 and above coming to APC”, he stated.
