Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i on Monday received Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Sidi, ex-NEMA Director General, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC alongside other PDP stalwarts in Kaduna State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sani-Sidi, a governorship aspirant in the PDP, had in a statement on Sunday said he had renounced his membership of the party along with 30,000 other PDP members.
His joining the All Progressive Congress (APC) brings to two, the number of PDP governorship aspirants who dumped the party.
Sani-Sidi told the governor that they would work for APC victory in the March 9 elections.
He said since the end of the PDP primaries which he claimed did not reflect the true wishes of the people, there had been no attempt by the party leadership to reconcile aggrieved members.
“The leadership of the party is clueless and lacks sense of direction on how to run a state, hence the reason for decamping from the PDP,” he added.
According to him, they were at the Government House with his supporters from across the 23 LGAs to collectively pledge their support and also ensure APC wins at the next polls.
The former NEMA boss said the PDP gubernatorial candidate lacked the foresight to provide quality leadership to the state.
“Governor El-Rufa’i has set a bar of records in the state,” he claimed, and urged the electorates to return him to power.
In his response, El-Rufa’i congratulated them for abandoning the PDP, and sought for their collaboration to strengthen the APC and ensure total victory on March 9.
According to him, the APC is a party of justice which gives equal rights to all members.
“We do not discriminate against anyone because of his partisan, religious or ethnic affiliation,” he said, and assured the new members of equal status in the party.
The governor said they have joined the party at the right time and would be needed immediately to offer their support in some strategic areas.
“Elections last for just a week, but governance is a continuous process which requires the collective efforts of all individuals because even those in the other party might have positive contributions which we must not turn deaf ears to. We therefore promise to work with you before and after the polls,” the governor said.
El-Rufa’i lamented over current campaigns of division in the state ahead of the governorship election, and urged all residents to resist any attempt to divide them and strive to heal such wounds.
