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Adelowo Oladipo
The Chairman of Niger State chapter of the All Progressive Congress APC, Hon Haliru Zakari Jikantoro, has denied the rumour making the rounds in the state about his defection to the main opposition party in the country, the People’s Democratic Party( PDP) and his purported meeting with a former Vice President and Presidential Flagbearer of the PDP in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Jikantoro’s clarifications at the weekend in Minna, the state capital, has become imperative against the backdrops of the widespread speculations in parts of the state of his defection to another party, the PDP, alongside some of his friends and associates.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State, Hon. Haliru Zakari Jikantoro has stated categorically in an interactive session with the newsmen that he will not defect nor engage in anti-party activities that would jeopardize the chances of the ruling party in Niger State.
The APC State Chairman, however, concluded on Sunday in Minna that some of his associates defected to the main opposition party, that ion Peoples PDP, just as he emphasized that they were merely pursuing their interests.
He said APC is “good to go despite the challenges that made light of the party’s popularity to be reduced a little than in 2015 and 2019, arguing that the party will come out victorious at the general elections later this month and shortly thereafter across the country”.
“I am not planning to defect to any party, but I am in APC as the chairman,” adding that the rumour that he met with the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar was false.
“In my life, I have not met Atiku Abubakar one-on-one. On the way to Saudi Arabia, I got the message that I was engaged in anti-party activities. I came back on January 14 and joined them in political activities. I have an interest in the Borgu Federal Constituency. I’ve fortified my interests, and other groups have their interests. So, because some people decided to defect to other parties, could not have reflected my interest; we are good to go in APC,” Jikantoro maintained.
He, however, explained that people should be able to find out why some of the said Political associates defected to the PDP, to be specific, before drawing the conclusion stressing that “it is all about interest. We have achieved 70 percent of the reconciliation process in Niger State, which is good enough.”
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