Leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from Daura, Sandamu, Maiadua, Zango and Baure local government areas have rejected the endorsement of Yusuf Buhari, late President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, as the sole candidate for the House of Representatives for Daura/Sandamu/Maiadua federal constituency.
At a gathering in Daura on Saturday, several party bigwigs took turns criticising some stakeholders in the state for “trying to impose candidates without due consultations.”
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the Chairman of Sandamu local government area, Usman Nalado, had on Wednesday convened a meeting of zonal APC stakeholders to endorse Yusuf Buhari as the party’s candidate for the constituency and Nair Yahaya as senator.
Our Presidential candidate is Bola Tinubu; our gubernatorial candidate is Dikko Radda; our senatorial candidate is Hon. Nasir Yahaya Daura; and our House of Representatives candidate is Hon. Yusuf Muhammadu Buhari Daura. I’m hereby urging you to take the campaign to the grassroots from the polling unit to wards to all the committees. Inform them that this is our decision, and I’ll lead the campaign for these people….,’ Usman Nalado said during the meeting.
We will not accept imposition
During the Saturday’s event, the immediate former APC National Legal Adviser and a former commissioner of justice in Katsina State, Usman Ahmad El- Marzuk, dismissed the endorsement as a ruse.
El-Marzuk maintained that the state governor vowed never to impose candidates on people during the primary elections.
“We didn’t hear from the governor… The governor has not endorsed anyone, so this is nothing but a lie to confuse the general public. We’re trying to protect the party and the governor from being accused of imposing candidates. The APC, as a party, provides for consensus or open contests. Any attempt by anyone to impose candidates will not be accepted,’ the legal practitioner said.
Bala Musa Daura, the Daura area chairman, also kicked against the endorsements and insisted the rumour has caused concern among party supporters in the zone.
Governor Radda didn’t impose Yusuf Buhari
Commenting on the issue, the Special Adviser to the governor on political affairs, Yau Umar Gwajo Gwajo, said the state governor has not endorsed Yusuf Buhari or any candidate yet.
Gwajo Gwajo, a two-term commissioner and former House of Assembly Speaker, insisted that Yusuf Buhari was endorsed by stakeholders in the constituency and the governor has no hand in it.
“If the people of Sandamu, Daura and Maiadua feel good about the late President’s son and think he is good enough to represent them, since they didn’t say the governor or the party asked them to endorse him, then there is nothing bad about it. People should avoid rumours. What I know is that the governor has not changed from his earlier stand to allow people to decide who they want to represent them,” he said on Friday.
