No room for compromise —Magaji, spokesperson Yari’s camp

Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Birnin Magaji is the chairman of the publicity committee of All Progressives Congress (APC) faction loyal to former Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar of Zamfara State speaks with ATTAHIRU AHMED on the crisis in the party in the state.

 

For about three years or so, it has been a back-and-forth situation in the All Progressives Congress (APC) crisis in Zamfara State. Why the unhealthy trend?  

Non-respect of the mutual verbal agreement between us; I mean who built and nurtured the Party to this stage and who are those behind Governor Bello Matawalle’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Parry (PDP) to APC. The agreement which was verbally designed by the arrowheads of the defection saga entailed sharing of both party and government positions between the side of the defecting Governor and Honourable Abdulaziz Yari faction. This verbal initiative made the 29th June, 2021 defection ceremony of the governor in Gusau, the state capital, very successful with the presence of the state APC leader, His Excellency, Honourable. Abdulaziz Yari. But after the ceremony, the non-implementation of the said verbal agreement forced us to lose confidence in the CECPC in particular and the national leadership of the party in general. We don’t trust them anymore and that’s why we ran to the court of Law to seek redress and still awaiting the verdict arising from our suit in which both parties were asked to maintain the status quo pending its determination.

 

Most observers are curious that the APC crisis in the state has not in any way abated despite several peace efforts from within and outside the state chapter. What are the major grey areas in dispute? 

The crux of the matter was the commando style used by the CECPC in imposing the defecting governor on us without following due process. We felt terribly betrayed and short-changed by those who benefited from our genuine commitment, determination and hard work, including of course, those in the CECPC. This was a person, who fought us in 2019 while he was in the PDP in all the elections and after the Supreme Court judgement that voided APC victory in Zamfara State, he began an onslaught against the party (APC), its leaders and members across the State with a view to wiping them out. Having realised that the APC has been strengthened through the tireless efforts of our leader, Abdulaziz Yari, the governor therefore, through some political merchants, decided to pitch his  tent with it so that he will have a smooth ride. The move was to edge us out of our home and we will do everything humanly possible to resist and fight it.

 

All the aggrieved camps ought to be talking about pursuing a course that would culminate into an amicable resolution. Why is it still difficult for you to reach a compromise?

There will never be a respite, consensus or compromise; not in the near future because of the presence, involvement and active manipulation by some political consultants in the governor’s side that are bent on sustaining the crisis for their personal political and economic gains. We are not perturbed by their antics because we know the incumbency factor will not make a difference in Zamfara State; when the die is cast, you will understand what I mean In Shaa Allah.

 

But, what are the immediate and long-term implications of the crisis for the APC?      

You see, the CECPC, governors of Kebbi and Jigawa states, the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, as well as the political merchants, who don’t have the interest of the party and its genuine members at heart, are the major obstacles.

Their personal/political interest has beclouded their party loyalty and faithfulness thinking that they can achieve their interest through coercive tendencies. We live to see it. To tell you the fact, the immediate implication of their action has gone a long way in making members of the party in the country to lose confidence in the party they laboured to build and presented  to the electorate in 2015 and 2019 elections and overrun its arch rival, the PDP. This lack of confidence will make more damage to the party in the buildup to 2023. The forthcoming national convention of the party will make or break it and the long-term implication of this may be its disintegration.