Zamfara Governor Bello Matawalle has lost his ward chairman, Alhaji Bala Roka and about 3,000 other members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Maradun local government to All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
A former governorship aspirant of the APC in the state, Alhaji Aminu Sani Jaji, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, said the former ward chairman led the defectors to the APC two days after the Supreme Court affirmed Matawalle as the duly elected governor of Zamfara state.
Jaji said the PDP in Zamfara state also lost the ward chairmen, including chairman Kaya ward, Namadi Abubakar; PDP executive council member, Nasiru Rabiu and other wards chairmen from Kaura Namoda LGA as well as the publicity secretary of the PDP in Maradun LGA, Engr. Abubakar Sadiq.
Jaji, who ran for the governorship of the state in the 2019 elections and was a member of the House of Representatives, said he received the defectors from across all wards of the two local government areas of Maradun and Kaura Namoda.
Jaji said the APC is delighted to receive the new members and groups, stating their defection shows that the grassroots people are not happy with the administration of the PDP in the state.
โWe are happy to receive these grassroots politicians into our fold. We congratulate them for taking this bold decision, they have realized that APC is the best party to be in, I assure you that the APC will bounce back in 2023,โ he said.
The statement quoted one of the defectors and a youth leader in Banga ward, Yusuf Dalibi, as saying that they decided to dump the ruling party in the state because the governor is insincere about their problems.
He added they also left because of the outstanding performance of Hon Jaji, especially how he helps people of the state, saying โ even when we were in PDP, he doesnโt differentiate between us, he carried everyone around, and we happy to be with him.
โWe are ready to work for him and the party to ensure victory in the entire 16 wards of Kaura Namoda in next election.
โWe know how he was able to pay all the NEPA bills of everyone when he was serving as chairman of the local government. We assure you that we will give you all the necessary support and we would continue to pray for you to succeed.โ