Francis Sardauna in Katsina
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State, Senator Abubakar Sadiq Yar’Adua, yesterday vowed to resist any move by the party to impose a governorship candidate on the people of the state ahead of the forthcoming 2023 gubernatorial elections.
The former Katsina Central senator urged political actors in the state to uphold the extant political arrangement which respects the wishes of the citizens in line with the democratic principles of fairness, equity, justice and inclusion.
Yar’Adua, who disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists at his Katsina residence, cautioned against imposition of candidates on the basis of loyalty to leaders, insisting that the party would be bound to have more problems during elections if leaders imposed candidates on members.
He warned those peddling the rumour that Governor Aminu Bello Masari had anointed one of his kitchen cabinet members as the preferred candidate for the governorship in the forthcoming polls to learn from history and bury the idea for transparency to drive.
He said: “Leadership is about service to the people and that is what is missing. We don’t have crisis in Katsina APC. The only problem that we have is that the party’s structure seems to favour one particular candidate. They were doing everything to ensure that one particular one is giving more advantage than others.
“But because of the hues and cries from political stakeholders in the state, His Excellency, the governor of the state timely intervened by saying he will not allow the party’s structure to favour one particular candidate; that he will give a fair playing field to anybody who wants to contest.
“So, I will resist imposition of candidate and Katsina citizens should not allow a bad person to assume leadership position and if anybody wants to impose a bad leader on them they should resist it. It is their inalienable right to resist it. Let us revolutionalise the entire political system in the state by bringing good leadership to the state.”
He explained that peace and unity of the party were paramount and enjoined leaders to guide against blackmailing statements that would lead to factions in the party, insisting that any attempt to impose candidate would amount to disenfranchisement of the electorate.
He, however, said the defection of governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives to the ruling APC would affect the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chances of winning the 2023 elections, saying APC remained one united “strong party in Nigeria”.
