Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Damishi Barau, has formally submitted a
letter withdrawing his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The deputy governor, who walked into the state secretariat of the party
around 11:00 a.m. on Monday, handed the letter to the state secretary of
the party, Mustapha Galadima.
Also, Mr. Markus Gundiri, one of the founding members of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa, has dumped the party for the
Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
The Nasarawa State interim Chairman of the APC, Stanley Buba, confirmed
the development saying the party wished the deputy governor well in his
future endeavour.
“He was under suspension before now, I don’t know whether it’s the
suspension that made him to quit but all the same we wish him well in his
future endeavour,” he said.
The Nasarawa APC for publicly criticising the national leadership of the
party over its stance recently suspended Mr. Barau.
The Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura is a member of the APC, but
the Nasarawa Assembly is PDP dominated, fuelling speculations of an
impeachment plan.
Also, addressing newsmen on Monday in Yola, Gundiri said that his decision
to defect to the PDP was based on “breach of trust and lack of
accommodation’’ in the APC.
Gundiri, a gubernatorial candidate on the platform of the defunct Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the Feb. 2012 election in the state, said his
action was aimed at “strengthening democratic norms and principles.’’
He said that he was initially optimistic that the fusion of the ACN, CPC
and ANPP to form the APC would provide a rare opportunity for the APC to
defeat the PDP in the 2015 gubernatorial election in the state.
He listed “injustice and impunity’’ displayed by the interim committee of
the APC as other reasons that forced him to dump the APC for the PDP.
Gundiri criticised the way the interim committee of the APC was
constituted in the state without “due recognition and respect’’ for senior
partners in the coalition that formed the APC.
He alleged that trained registration supervisors were not allowed to
handle the APC membership registration in some local government areas of
the state as demanded by law, adding that the exercise was cancelled in
some local government areas.
He called on his supporters and the electorate in the state to support the
PDP to move the state forward in 2015.
He said that arrangements were on to receive him and his supporters into
the PDP.