Zamfara Gov’s Defection Stirs Leadership Crisis in State APC

•Marafa: Buni’s chairmanship illegal, threatens court action
•Kyari: Matawalle can’t be our leader, Buni lacks power to dissolve EXCO
•PDP says defector gov’s statement confirms APC is behind insecurity

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Last week’s defection of Governor Bello Matawalle from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has set off a new leadership struggle in Zamfara States as Senator Kabiru Marafa and former Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari have opposed a directive that the defector governor has automatically become the leader of APC in the state.

Senator Kabir Marafa contended that the APC constitution in section 17(4) forbade Governor Mai Mala Buni from being the chairman of APC.

He also said he had told President Muhammadu Buhari of the banana peel on the path of Buni as chairman of APC, threatening legal actions for his continued stay in office as APC Chairman.
According to Marafa, “You see, let me tell you something that is likely to happen, as far as I’m concerned. APC should let the sleeping dog lie. Mai Mala Buni, the chairman, doesn’t have the powers under the constitution to make certain pronouncements and that is number one.

“Number two, issues will come up and we are going to challenge even the legality of his being a chairman of APC. When you look at our APC Constitution, sections 17 sub 4 in particular forbids Mai Mala from being the chairman of the party. I have warned.

“I have alerted Mr President a long time ago that, we should be very wary of these banana peels, because if things are pushed to their limits, there will be consequences. Now when you push a man to the wall, definitely he is going to fight back. So, we are going to ask these fundamental questions, when the need arises to do so,” he said.

Specifically, Marafa said there was no APC in Zamfara and no governor for the state now.
Speaking on Arise TV network, Marafa, who had earlier taken APC to court, resulting in the disqualification of the party in the 2019 governorship election said, “We don’t have any governor for now,” insisting that Matawalle’s defection violated the 2019 Supreme Court Judgement.
On his part, Yari too has rejected Mataealle as the leader of APC in the state.
Featuring on BBC Hausa Service, Yari rejected Buni’s declaration, saying Matawalle was not the leader of the party.

Speaking after a meeting with the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Yari said; “It’s one thing that we are challenging which is the declaration by Governor Mai Mala. His declaration was not part of what we discussed with six governors before he (Matawalle) defected.

“What we all agreed during our meeting with the six governors was that Matawalle should be received into our fold and afterwards we should discuss how to integrate both his people and ours. But during the defection, we were told that the party executives should be dissolved. You just don’t dissolve executives of a party, because nobody has the power to do so,” Yari said.
Corroborating this, Marafa said the declaration of Matawalle as the leader of the party in the state was tantamount to deception, insisting that they would not accept it.

“We said for proper integration, there should be a meeting for proper consultations but all of a sudden, announcement was made that the party executives had been dissolved and someone was named as leader of our party. This is incorrect,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, the PDP has said the claim by Matawalle, that he joined the APC in order to get the federal government to end insecurity in his state, reinforced public’s stance that the APC and its government were responsible for the banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging the state.
According to the PDP, stating that now that he has finally joined the APC, he would “have the full backing of the federal government to fight insecurity”, further exposed that the APC was never committed to fighting insecurity but apparently fueling it for political gains.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said, the statement by Governor Matawalle further confirmed that the APC has been promoting insecurity particularly, terrorism and kidnapping for ransom, in various parts of the country as a way to create an emergency situation to cover their atrocities, siphon public funds as well as intimidate and coerce state governors elected on the platform of other political parties to join their fold.

The PDP recalled how Matawalle had been under pressure by the APC-led federal government with the imposition of no flight as well as threats of state of emergency in the state.
“Nigerians now know those behind the violent abductions, kidnapping and other acts of terrorism in the state and other parts of the country as well as why the situation has continued to escalate under the APC.

“It is indeed atrocious and most unpardonable that the APC is using the blood of innocent and helpless Nigerians for its political gains as well as to create a gory merchandise for its leaders and cronies,” he said.

PDP held that by this claim, it was clear that Matawalle did not defect to the APC, because the party has any democratic credential as erroneously claimed by the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, but only surrendered to intimidation and cowardly joined those behind the killings and acts of violence in Nigeria.

“Of course, the APC as a party of political bandits, does not have any democratic credential to attract well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians.

“Governor Matawalle must, however, note that joining such individuals, who have brought so much anguish and pain to his people, is an unpardonable act of betrayal which will continue to act as an albatross particularly, against the backdrop of his own vows,” the PDP said.

On the reclaiming of the governorship mandate, the PDP described Matawalle’s boast as the feeble kick of a disoriented and confused deserter, stressing that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear on the responsibilities of a deputy governor that finds himself under an absconding governor like Matawalle.

In Delta State, a former governorship aspirant of the PDP, Chief Sunny Onuesoke said yesterday that defection was no solution to the myriads of problems confronting the nation at the moment.
Onuesoke, who spoke while reacting to the series of defections across party lines by political office holders said those doing so with prevailing social and security problems across the country were callous and wicked.

“Defection is no solution to the myriads of problems facing the country at the moment, Nigerians are hungry. For the past five, six years, Nigerians have been subjected to untold hardship and hunger due to the incompetent handling of governance by those entrusted with such responsibilities, instead of increase in living standard, Nigerians are experiencing massive decrease, Prices of basic commodities have shot astronomically high from what was obtainable in the past.

“There have been lots of job losses with firms either downsizing or folding up completely. Nigerians cannot sleep with their two eyes closed due to insecurity occasioned by the activities of marauding killer herdsmen, bandit and kidnappers, which is currently ravaging every facet of our national life.

“Instead of looking for ways to salvage the situation, politicians from both the ruling party APC and the opposition PDP are busy crisscrossing between political parties like political prostitutes” Onuesoke stated.
The former governorship aspirant called on politicians to wake up and face the reality of tackling the problems facing the country instead of pursuing their selfish and personal interest.