Niger: Automatic tickets tear APC apart

THE deal sealed by the All Progressives Congress with certain federal lawmakers to return them to National Assembly is threatening the fragile peace in the Niger State chapter of the party.

Findings revealed that to stop the gale of defection by Senators and lawmakers in the House of Representatives that recently upset its majority status in both chambers, the leadership of the party entered into an agreement with some of the lawmakers to guarantee their return tickets.

The deal has since backfired in the Niger State chapter of the party, as some of the aspirants have kicked against the emergence of Senators David Umoru, Sabe Abdullahi, Mustapha Sani, representing the three senatorial zones in the State.

Addressing a joint press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday,

Alhaji Muhammed Sani Musa, Muhammed Birma and Alhaji Zakari Jika Toro, told newsmen that they won the party tickets and vowed to resist what they called the imposition of serving senators from their respective zones.

” Any attempt to impose these 3 aspirants would lead to APC defeat in Niger. We are serious about it, it is not an empty threat. The Governor has done his best, but Mr President should intervene. We won’t allow Senator Bukola Saraki boys to pick our ticket. We are the ones on ground. We shall do all we can to ensure that our mandate is restored.

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“The team that came merely did an affirmation, they didn’t conduct any primary.

“We cannot be shortchanged, we participated in the process in accordance with the guidelines of the APC. The process was conducted, results were declared but they want to upturn it. The feelers we are getting was that the Committee was sent to do an affirmation, but there was no affirmation. You cannot do affirmation in a process where the candidates had emerged.”

Asked by newsmen whether they were aware of a deal between the APC national working committee and serving federal lawmakers to give the latter automatic tickets, the aggrieved aspirants said they were not privy to such a deal.

“Automatic ticket? As far as we know, it was never made official. Why did they collect money from us for nomination forms? Why did they promise to do primaries?”

The aspirants vowed not to approach the Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor appeal panel for redress as they claimed that they won the primaries.

“We are not going to appeal, we won. Why do we need the appeal panel? It is left to the NWC to declare us winners

“So as far as we are concerned, we won our tickets!

But we want to assure you that whatever we will do will be in accordance with the law, we will not do anything, outside the party guidelines.”