Yari No Longer APC Member,  Says former Lawmaker

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A former member of the  House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Jaji, has said former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, is not a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Jaji,  a former Chairman House Committee on Intelligence and Internal Security said  the current insecurity bedeviling Zamfara state won’t affect the chances of APC in 2023 elections.

The former lawmaker disclosed this  yesterday at a media interaction with journalists in Abuja.

Despite the crisis in Zamfara state chapter of the APC which has led to different factions, Jaji said Governor Bello Matawalle has been able to unite the party.

 When reminded that Yari was still a member of the party and still having running battle with the governor, he insisted that the former governor was no longer a member of the party.

He said: “I don’t know if Yari is a registered member of the party. But for me, he is not an APC member.”

Jaji also expressed confidence that the experience of 2019 where APC lost all the elective positions to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will never repeat itself again.

“It cannot happen. And it will not happen again. And we will not allow it to happen. Because the governor knows the mandate is not for him alone but for the people. And he will allow the people to give it to who they like.”

On the issue of insecurity in the state, the party chieftain said: ”The issue of insecurity is something that we know about and it will not jeopardize the chances of the APC. The party will continue to win despite the challenge of insecurity.”

Jaji added: “There was insecurity in Zamfara before 2019. I was a council chairman. The first incident that took place in Zamfara was in my local government. It happened in September 2011 during Abdul Aziz’s administration when some commuters traveled from Birnin Magaji to Batsari then the bandits killed them and set them ablaze including their commodities.

“The thing continues up till the time that about 300 were killed in one day. So many things have happened in the state of which everybody knows about it before 2019. And the thing continues. If you look at the figures from 2011, to 2015, and 2019, the people that have lost their lives, you will know that this thing is there. It is not something you blame one person for. The challenge is there.”