Senator Kabiru Marafa on Sunday said himself and former governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Yari, have not defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), but that negotiations are ongoing.
Speaking in response to the claim by Zamfara PDP chairman that the duo had joined the party, Marafa said, “All we know is that we are into negotiations with many political parties that have invited us to join them in the state.”
According to Senator Marafa, while speaking in in a telephone interview with Leadership, “For now any news that said we have decamped is falsehood.”
He stressed that, considering the injustice meted out to the people of Zamfara by the former APC national leadership several parties approached the former governor’s faction to join.
Earlier, the PDP chairman, Colonel Bala Mande (rtd) had told journalists in Gusau yesterday, that the party had received Yari, Marafa and other top APC members who had joined the party together with their supporters.
Mande said, “Gentlemen of the press, we have called you to brief you on the joining of our great party the PDP by the former governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Yari, Senator Kabiru Garba Mafara and their supporters.
“They have joined us, we have reached an agreement and we are going to implement the agreement.
“We have agreed to be together in one party, the PDP and work together for the success of the party.
“We have also agreed to work extra hard in order to reclaim Zamfara State in 2023 and save its people from their present predicament.
“I have given the stakeholders a complete update of where we are as a result of this development.”
The chairman maintained that, Yari, Marafa and other top APC members would be officially received in Gusau in a colorful ceremony.