Yilwatda Leads Delegation to Bauchi to Counter Bala Mohammed’s Move to ADCYilwatdaYilwatda Leads Delegation to Bauchi to Counter Bala Mohammed’s Move to ADC

• APC resumes electronic membership registration 

•ADC alleges planned protest against Mark’s leadership, demands clarity from INEC on purported voter re-validation plan

Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Barely 24 hours after members of African Democratic Congress (ADC) visited Governor Bala Mohammed to lure him to its fold, National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has also paid a private visit to the governor.

In company with the APC chairman was  Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, and other party leaders.

The delegation, which was at the Governor’s Office for undisclosed reasons arrived in the afternoon, and went into a closed-door meeting with the governor and a few members of the National Assembly; Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abubakar Suleiman; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Aminu Hammayo; and Chief of Staff, Dr Aminu Gamawa, among  others.

Although details of the meeting were not officially disclosed, sources indicated that the discussions might not be unconnected to ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election.

THISDAY checks revealed that the visit was a reaction to the move by the governor and his supporters to move to ADC based on what the governor had said. The meeting lasted about an hour.

As soon as they came out of the governor’s office, they headed into their respective vehicles, left for the airport, and back to Abuja

The governor, too, declined any comments when journalists tried to speak to him about the meeting.

The governor is expected to announce today the next political party he will join alongside his supporters, as he promised.

When the ADC delegation visited Mohammed on Tuesday, he said the national chairman of ADC, Senator David Mark, “has asked them to come to me, to reconnect to me with the umbilical cord of the opposition, the one that I have always been.

“I said to him as a leader of the PDP, I also discovered that there is still some bitterness while our party is headless. Of course, I have pursued all avenues for reconciliation, but it has not worked. And our people are putting me under extreme pressure.

“We have set up two committees, one in Abuja at the national level because of my position as a leader of the party on the other side, and one here to look at where to go. We left all our options on the ground, including the ADC itself.”

He said sadly, he and his supporters had discovered that they could not be where they were wanted, but, “We have to find a place within the opposition. That’s where our faith and positive destiny will take us to. And ADC happens to be very and vibrant, and of course, a more acceptable platform.”

APC Resumes Electronic Membership Registration

APC announced the resumption of its electronic membership registration exercise.

National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement said the e-registration exercise was designed to digitise the party’s membership register.

Morka stated that the exercise was also to ensure the integrity of records, enhance efficient access to membership data for planning and management decisions, promote internal democracy, and strengthen the party’s commitment to democratic innovation in Nigeria.

He said, “As the electronic membership registration exercise resumes in all wards and designated locations nationwide, we urge existing members to validate their membership while new members are encouraged to register and join the progressive family.

“Registrants must be 18 years or older and must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN).”

ADC Alleges Planned Protest Against Mark

ADC, yesterday, said it had uncovered a plot by APC to sponsor a protest against the leadership of Senator David Mark today.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement on X, disclosed that the latest plot was arrived at after the ruling party failed to pressure Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into taking illegal actions to destabilise the party, following the defection of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to ADC.

Abdullahi stated that the objective was that a protest would “give oxygen to a case already suffocating in the courts under the weight of its own illegality”.

According to him, a paid crowd, posturing as aggrieved party members, would take to the streets demanding “David Mark Must Go.” He said this would be to create public pressure on “the INEC chairman to magically upgrade and recognise an individual who resigned his position and was subsequently expelled from the ADC, to the position of National Chairman of a party he no longer belongs to”.

Abdullahi alleged that the APC government wanted to hijack the leadership of ADC, which he said was the only viable opposition party left in the country.

The ADC spokesperson stated that APC was not just afraid of the adoption of ADC by Nigerians, but was also afraid of what would happen “when the Nigerian people start paying attention and begin to believe that change is possible”.

ADC Demands Clarity from INEC on Purported Voter Revalidation Plan

ADC called on INEC to urgently confirm the authenticity of a leaked memo suggesting plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise, warning that if true, the move would be a “recipe for chaos” capable of disenfranchising millions of Nigerians ahead of the elections.

In a statement by Abdullahi, the party stated that requiring already registered voters to revalidate their details less than 10 months to the polls would suppress turnout, deepen voter apathy, and unfairly exclude those unable to travel, adding that the only likely beneficiary of such confusion is the ruling party.

ADC also questioned why such a major exercise was emerging through a leak, days to its proposed commencement, cautioning INEC against actions that could be perceived as aiding electoral manipulation.

ADC urged the commission to abandon the plan and reassure Nigerians of its commitment to a credible and inclusive electoral process.

The party said it had been inundated with reports of a purported internal memo from INEC, indicating plans to embark on a nationwide voter revalidation exercise.

Abdullahi stated, “We call on INEC to immediately confirm to Nigerians whether this memo is genuine, and whether it indeed reflects an official plan of the commission. If true, this development raises serious concerns and must be rejected outright as a recipe for chaos.

“Coming less than 10 months to a general election, such an exercise risks disenfranchising millions of Nigerians. It is already difficult enough to get citizens to register to vote in the first place.

“To now require them to return and ‘revalidate’ their registration is, in effect, to ask them not to bother at all.

“INEC must clearly explain what happens to Nigerians who, for valid reasons, are unable to travel for this exercise. Are they to lose their right to vote simply because they cannot make it back to designated centres within a narrow window?”