The Gada APC Youth has strongly refuted claims by Senator Abubakar Gada alleging that scores of All Progressives Congress (APC) card-carrying members have defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement signed by the group’s spokesperson, Sirajo Adamu, and made available to journalists in Sokoto, the youths described the senator’s assertions as baseless and misleading.
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to Sen. Abubakar Gada, which has been circulating in some sections of the media, alleging that scores of APC members in Gada LGA have cross-carpeted to the ADC. We urge members of the public to discard that falsehood in its entirety as nothing more than a figment of the originator’s imagination,” the statement read.
While acknowledging Sen. Gada’s status as a public figure with visible supporters, the group argued that attempting to rebrand his personal followers as APC defectors amounts to deliberate mischief.
“It should be noted that Sen. Gada, like every public figure, has his supporters who may rally around him whenever he is in town. However, to turn around and pass them off as APC members defecting to another party, let alone the ADC coalition of failed politicians, is misleading and dishonest,” the statement added.
The group further reminded the senator of the established procedures governing party defections in Nigeria, stating that no genuine defection takes place without due process.
“As a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Gada is expected to be aware that defections are not validated by simply taking photographs with a crowd and announcing their departure from a party. For the avoidance of doubt, resignation letters from party members are addressed to their respective ward chairmen. And unless Senator Gada also doubles as the ward chairman for all those he claims have defected, the public should take this claim with a pinch of salt,” the statement concluded.