There appears to be an air of uncertainty in the political camp of the All Progressives Congress in Katsina State following the defection of former Secretary to the state government, Dr. Mustapha Muhammed Inuwa, to the Peoples Democratic Party, writes Francis Sardauna
There are strong indications that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina state, especially its top brass, are on the horns of a dilemma over the defection of one of its stalwarts and the immediate past Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Mustapha Muhammed Inuwa, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Immediately after announcing his defection, the political atmosphere of the state was charged with anxiety and exhilaration as an ecstatic crowd thronged Inuwa’s office and connected major roads cheering him with solidarity songs. Also, Inuwa’s teeming supporters who acted on his directive, tore all his APC flags, posters and banners at the office.
After serving for seven years as SSG under the ruling APC-led government of Governor Aminu Bello Masari, Inuwa dumped the APC alongside his 627 support groups across the 361 political wards of the state for the opposition PDP, arguably sounding a death knell to the APC ahead of the 2023 general election.
Inuwa, an astute politician and one of the founding fathers of APC in Katsina, announced his defection to the PDP at a meeting with leaders of the 627 support groups held at his office in Katsina after months of consultation with different political parties and associates within and outside the state on whether to leave the APC or stay.
Citing APC’s failure to tackle security and economic challenges, widespread poverty and unemployment bedevilling Katsina state as well as the decay in education and other sectors as his reasons for defecting, Inuwa said he and his supporters suffered severe persecution from the leadership of the APC and its members in the state.
Addressing his supporters during the chuffed meeting, Inuwa said: “We have entered an agreement with the PDP, our new political party. So, Today (Sunday), myself and my 627 different political organisations have left the APC to PDP because both the candidate of the APC (Dr Umar Dikko Radda) and the party are not interested in us as a group.
“In fact, the assumed spokesperson of the party (APC) has been castigating and condemning us and even threatening anybody who associates with us will be dealt with even if you have a ticket they will use INEC to ensure that you are either disqualified or withdrawn.
“Also, the candidate (Radda) has not done anything to bring us on board. In fact, I reliably learnt he rejected the person he was advised to pick as running mate simply because the person supported me during the governorship primary.
“So, it is very clear that, not only me as a person, but even my followers are not needed in their journey that is why we left the party (APC). I assured you this time around history is going to repeat itself. We rejected PDP in 2015, now we rejected APC and I believe PDP will emerge victorious”.
However, pundits who are following political happenings in Katsina state, said serving senators, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly members as well as commissioners and special advisers would soon leave the APC and pitch tent with Inuwa in his new umbrella to unseat his former party in the forthcoming elections.
Inuwa, who resigned his appointment as secretary to the state government in April and joined nine other aspirants to contest for the APC governorship primary, came second in the race with 442 votes after Dr Umar Dikko Radda who polled 506 votes to emerge the APC governorship candidate in the state.
Prior to the APC guber primary, Inuwa was seen by pundits as the candidate that could make the APC win the 2023 poll because of his wide-awake political journey in the state. But the leadership of the party and some of its bigwigs who felt giving Inuwa the party’s ticket may amount to dictatorship, worked against him during the primary.
Unarguably, the outcome of the APC governorship primary and the inability of the party to manage the widespread internal squabbles that erupted after the guber primary, apparently led to the exit of Inuwa and a legion of his supporters, who accused the APC of betrayal and intimidation, to the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, Inuwa’s defection to the PDP has become a nightmare for leaders and supporters of the APC in the state judging from their depressive reactions. Thus, the state APC Welfare Secretary, Alhaji Shafi’u Abdu Duwan, has described Inuwa’s defection as an act of ingratitude to the party which he had served for seven years.
Speaking at a recent press conference in Katsina, Duwan alleged that Inuwa was the major beneficiary of the APC administration in the state. He further said Inuwa is not supposed to betray the party and Governor Masari after all the favours they have done to him (Inuwa).
According to him, “Nobody benefitted from the APC administration in Katsina State more than Dr Mustapha Inuwa and for him to kick against the emergence of Radda as the gubernatorial candidate of the party is ungodly and kicking against God’s choice or His will”.
Another top APC chieftain, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak, described Inuwa and other defectors as “dead horses” that have no political value other than to have a negative impact on the APC ahead of the next year’s general elections.
The source claimed that Inuwa left the party immediately after he suffered defeat from Radda during APC primaries and wondered why the PDP was celebrating a stale event if it were not afraid of APC’s renewed strength in the state.
But political pundits said the thoughts of having a smooth and easy election in 2023 by members of the APC in the state might be eluding them because Inuwa’s exit from the party poses a big threat to them considering his vast political experience, capacity and prowess. According to the pundits, Inuwa was the brain behind Masari’s victory in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
To further buttress pundits’ assertion that Inuwa was the engine-room of Masari’s government, the pioneer APC chairman said in one of his political gatherings that: “We conducted 10 bye elections in this state (Katsina) and the last one was the one we conducted in Bakori local government area.
“I swear, the Governor (Masari) does not know how to win elections; we would only bring the results to him. We did the 2019 general elections and we got the highest votes in the country. And all of you know we got more votes in the second election (2019) than the first election (2015)”.
Judging from Inuwa’s statement, the APC still has many rivers to cross and its chances of capturing the state in 2023 are seemingly foreclosing following the recent gale of defection that greeted the party.
Accordingly, Inuwa is not the first person to bid farewell to the party in the state. A serving senator representing Daura zone, Ahmed Babba Kaita and thousands of other APC members across the state have defected to the PDP.
Scholars of the political game are of the view that with Inuwa’s defection to the PDP, the party has the numerical value and strength as well as support from various political groups, thereby widening the chances of its Governorship Candidate, Senator Yakubu Lado Danmarke of reclaiming power from the APC come 2023.
One of the scholars confided in THISDAY that: “This is a very tough time for APC and its members in Katsina because Dr Mustapha Inuwa has what you can call political structures and the spread of contacts state-wide. He already has a solid team on the ground that will work for PDP victory. APC is indeed in a state of dilemma over Inuwa’s defection”.
Collaborating the scholars’ view, the state Chairman of the PDP, Hon. Salisu Yusuf Majigiri, explained that Inuwa has all what it takes to guarantee victory for the party in next year’s general elections.
The PDP House of Representatives candidate for Mashi/Dutsi Federal Constituency, added that Inuwa’s defection to the PDP was a welcome development that would ensure that the state is rescued from the ruling All Progressive Congress in 2023.
He described Inuwa as a core party loyalist, political strategist and a consummate politician with deep interest in the unity and development of Katsina state and the country at large.
“We are extremely happy about his (Inuwa) defection to our great party. We are very sure of victory in the forthcoming general elections and we are going to embark on massive grass-root mobilization for the party ahead of the 2023 elections”, he added.
But, in spite of the gale of defections and protracted internal crisis rocking the APC, some observers argue that the party remains strong, pointing to the fact that it has only lost a few members while gaining members of other political parties into its fold.
Notwithstanding, some political analysts are of the view that the All Progressives Congress party’s canoe in Katsina is on the verge of capsizing with its members if not rescued by the paddlers and its owners.
