The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Gombe State has regarded the defection of some members from the party as a move by inactive members, who have not contributed anything to the progress of the party.
In a chat with journalists, the Publicity Secretary of the party in Gombe State, Mr. Moses Kyari, said those that resigned were passive members, who never played any significant role in the party since joining it.
Mr. Kyari stated that ”the press conference was relevant to re-enforce the confidence of the members on the fact that the party was not complacent, but living up to its expectations.”
According to him, those that defected did so for their own political interest because they could not get the ticket for the political office they were aspiring for in APC.
Mr. Kyari said what was playing out was a circus, being directed by certain individuals to show off the image of the opposition party, which were malicious intentions of actors and perpetrators.
He mentioned the names of the defectors as; a former Deputy Governor, Mr. John Lazarus Yoriyo, Mr. Solomon Siyako, Abubakar-Abubakar Bidi, Mr. Yaya Bauchi, Mr. Rambi Ayala, Retired Air Vice Marshall, AVM Shehu Adamu, Dr. Jamilu Gwamna, Mr. Jibrin Barde, Hamza Zoye, among others.
Mr. Kyari said Dr. Jamilu Gwamna, Mr. Jibrin Barde, AM Shehu Adamu and Mr. Jibrin Barde were all passive members and onlookers during their outing in Gombe APC.
For Jibrin Barde, Mr. Kyari said since failing at the governorship primaries detached himself from the party, by not attending any party function since the transition period.
According to him, Mr. Barde had since then begun campaigning for the 2023 election into the office of the governor, with no meaningful contributions from him, indicating to the party that he had left the party since before then.
The Publicity Secretary said Jamilu Gwamna on the other hand joined the APC out of anger after losing out in the primaries in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP because he knew the APC was going to win the election.
“I challenge him and his supporters to come out and show the contribution of Jamilu in the APC. The truth remains that he was never an active member of the APC,” Mr. Kyari said .
He described Dr. Jamilu as a serial contestant for the governorship seat of Gombe State since 2003, saying he couldn’t have stayed in APC even after joining because of some people around him who make money from his failed attempts to be the governor of Gombe State.
For Mr. Ayala, the Publicity Secretary said ”he joined the APC because he was expelled from the PDP, even after taking his case to court.”
Mr. Kyari said Rambi Ayala, out of desperation organised a charade and claimed to have defected to the APC in his Ward, Billiri South, which was widely circulated in social media but he never attended the party function.
Mr. Kyari said Mr. Ayala would not be able to fulfil his ambition in either APC or PDP, because the PDP had not rescinded its decision to expel him from the party from its headquarters.
The Gombe State APC Publicity Secretary said Retired AVM Shehu Adamu was never a card-carrying member of the APC, but an APC sympathiser during the last General Election in 2019, because he had never registered or participated in any activity of the APC from the ward, local government and state.
For Hamza Zoye, who was the former Executive Chairman of Sports Commission, Mr. Kyari said he resigned from his position to save his face by hiding under politics, due to financial recklessness of government funds.
Mr. Kyari said Yaya Bauchi wanted to actualise his own personal political ambition to be a senator and could not do that in the APC, which already had a performing senator and he could not out stage.
He said the pelicans that resigned were fighting for their own selfish interests and were only relevant in the media space.
Mr. Kyari emphasised that the party officials would soon embark on a mission to receive defectors into the APC in the 114 wards of the state, as they are raising grassroots politicians, who are more beneficial to the party.
He, however, called on all party members to remain firm, because Governor Yahaya remained focused in delivering democracy dividends to the state.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
