Former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari and former senator Kabiru Marafa have dismissed reports that Governor Mohammed Bello Matawalle is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The duo made the remarks in an interview with BBC Hausa shortly after meeting with Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai on Wednesday.
Their comments were in response to reports that the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Committee Chairman, Maimala Buni, had said that Governor Matawalle was the leader of the APC in Zamfara after he defected from the PDP to the APC.
In a statement issued by the Zamfara State government shortly after Matawalle’s return to the APC, Mai Mala Buni was quoted as saying: “Matawalle is now the leader of our great party in Zamfara State.
While receiving the party flag, Governor Matawalle accepted its leadership as he declared himself a member of the party.
Governor Matawalle also joined the party along with all the current state senators, six of the seven members of the House of Representatives and all members of the state House of Assembly.
But Abdulaziz Yari and Kabiru Marafa – whom the governor met in the APC – have said they will not allow them to be ousted.
“It is one thing we do not agree with, where Governor Maimala said (Matawalle is the leader of the APC) because he is not in our discussions with six governors.
“What we agreed on was to go and launch Bello in return. What we agreed on as what we would give in the party and what we would take in government. But when we went there was a controversy and we found that there was a plan, some said, if the party was to be disbanded. The party is not destroyed because no one has the power to destroy it.” He said.
Senator Marafa also said that the appointment of Governor Matawalle as the leader of the APC in Zamfara was a scam that they would not accept.
He said: “We were asked to do what was done in Gusau. It was just a celebration. We were the ones who said before we could be one, there had to be a discussion.”
Political observers in Zamfara state say the return of Governor Matawalle to the APC will exacerbate the party’s crisis, especially as they have been at loggerheads with former governor Yari.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has not been able to bridge the gap between former governor Yari and former senator Marafa, which has led to the Nigerian Supreme Court seizing the state governorship seat and other seats held under it. the APC was given to the PDP.
