From: Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State has been accused of threatening the unity of his party as well as promoting political steps that would lead to a general breakdown of law and order in the state.
Speaking at a press conference in Kano, on Tuesday, some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State, said that the decision of the governor to jettison the use of primary election to determine the candidates of the APC for the July 1 Local Government polls in the state was already generating tension.
Hon. Nasiru Garba Dantiye, who is a member of the APC Board of Trustees in the state, and who spoke on behalf of the stakeholders, protested the moves by Governor Abubakar “to single-handedly or in cohort with a few selfish individuals , hand pick and impose candidates based on criteria unknown to either the Nigeria Constitution or that of the party”
The stakeholders, who cut across the 27 Local Government Areas of the state, reminded the governor that he and President Muhammadu Buhari, were the products of the same process of primary elections, wondering why he (Governor Abubakar) was opposed to it.
They also accused the governor of inducing the defection of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the (APC) and subsequently rewarding the decampees with juicy appointments in his government to the detriments of the original members of the APC who worked for him and the party.
They said that the appointments given to the decampees had continue to generate tension between the state government and the APC stakeholders and followers throughout the state.
They held that the drift in the governance of the state by the administration and the poor state of affairs among party followers have significantly eroded trust and confidence of the people in the present government, fearing that if these factors were not checked, the party was set for a gradual disintegration in the state.
They appealed to the state governor and party members to rise to the occasion to avert a major political catastrophe of reversing the gains of the party and conceding power to the enemy on a platter of gold.