Sen. Kabiru Marafa, Zamfara governorship aspirant, under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), says the party risks not fielding a candidate in the 2019 election if it fails to conduct credible party primary in the state by Sunday.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) had on Thursday cancelled the Zamfara governorship primary in a statement by Yekini Nabena, the APC acting National Publicity Secretary, who said the cancellation followed election malpractices, including snatching of electoral materials.
However, Marafa warned that the primary must be conducted before Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline on Sunday or risked disqualification.
“Well, it is not about me now I think it is about APC generally, whether APC has a chance or not because once it is blocked by 12.00 a.m. (on Sunday) APC will have nowhere to go to,” he said.
The senator, who stated that he was in the villa to update President Muhammadu Buhari on the failed APC governorship primary in Zamfara, alleged that the state governor, Abdul aziz Yari, had lost the support of people of the state.
He described as “illegal and irresponsible’’ the action of the governor after the announcement of the cancellation of the primary by the Prof. Abubakar Faki-led APC Zamfara Governorship Primaries Committee.
“The chairman of the APC Zamfara Governorship Primaries Committee witnessed the violence, he saw what happened after several days of meeting and he cancelled the election. Even when the results started trickling in the governor was nowhere to be found.
“But the governor came on air to say that he is the chief security officer of the state. So, as far as he is concerned the elections are going to continue (Thursday) tomorrow and he is going to collate the results.
“This is quite illegal and quite irresponsible with due respect. So that is capable of turning the state upside down,’’ he said.
Marafa, who alleged that Gov. Yari and his supporters were trying to sabotage the interest of the party in Zamfara, dismissed the allegation of political thuggery being leveled against him by some state government officials.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Gov. Yari of Zamfara was among the nine APC governors who met behind closed door with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday over the way and manner APC party primaries were conducted across the country.
Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo, who briefly spoke on behalf of the governors after the meeting, said the governors were looking for a way out of the party’s predicament resulting from its primaries.