The governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru, said the lingering crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, if it goes unchecked, may cost the party victory come 2023.
The governor stated this while inaugurating the caretaker committee of the party on Friday. He said if the party loses, he has nothing to lose being an established businessman.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported in September how the party was enmeshed in crisis leading to the removal of the then state chairperson, Habibu Sara, following the party’s caucus meeting, which was held at the government house.
The meeting was presided by the state governor, Mr Badaru.
Mr Sara was removed for allegedly shifting loyalty to the leader of a factional group of the party, Sabo Nakudu, a serving senator for Jigawa central.
At the meeting, Muhammad Umar was installed by the governor’s loyalists as acting party chairperson.
The governor, while inaugurating the caretaker committee, said, “I will remain vigilant watching those of you going to meeting with the other factional group, you have got enough of my patience, I will no longer tolerate that again.
“Its interesting to see Borno and Yobe, ever since, APC has been on the helm. Jigawa too, we need to take a lesson and be our brothers keepers, so that we will continue to lead. But if we allow our personal interest to influence our collective interest, I am assuring we are going to lose and by then my tenure would have elapsed.
“I am a businessman, I can travel all over the world without even holding a bag except for convenience,” Mr Badaru said.
He called on the other factional group to join forces with him to move the APC forward in the state.
”We are the responsible members of the party, I once sacrificed my governorship candidate to Hadejia emirate for sake of peace. However, God later made me the governor,” Mr Badaru added.
The governor charged the newly inaugurated party executives in the state to be committed to the development of the party. He assured them that they are working towards granting them a waiver to continue leading the party beyond the constitutional limit.
Meanwhile, the embattled former chairperson, Mr Sara, while reacting to the governor’s remarks, said, “We are aware the governor has a plan to destroy our party because he has no relevance after leaving office in 2023.”
He alleged in a statement that the plan by Mr Badaru to see APC dead in Jigawa will not work as ”we have politicians who can perform better than him, not businessmen like him who see the seat of governor as an opportunity to promote their personal businesses.
”As a governor you can pray that your party can lose election just because you came and generate capital for your business, we are politicians not businessmen. All we know is politics and APC will win come 2023,” Mr Sara said.
Mr Sara, however, said despite the injustice meted on him by the governor, he will remain a loyal APC member, being the most popular party in the state.
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