Four members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, five aspirants and 300,000 supporters have dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
The member representing Bauchi Constituency in the state assembly, Abdullahi Shehu, disclosed this in Bauchi on Sunday.
“I and other four members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly dumped the APC for good.
“The party’s injustice and mandate theft in the APC direct primaries conducted on October 7 is part of reasons for dumping the party.
“Our people choose us to be candidates while the party leadership denied to give us the mandate the next option was to opt out of the party,” Shehu said.
He mentioned lawmakers that defected along with him to include the Deputy Speaker, Abdulmumini Fanti, Alkaleri constituency; Ibrahim Katagum, Katagum constituency; Auwal Hassan, Shira constituency; and Yusuf Nuhu, Toro constituency.
“Nuhu is the member representing Toro in the state House of Assembly who recently won the bye-election for Toro federal constituency on the platform of the APC.
“Others include two senatorial aspirants who contested for Bauchi South and Bauchi Central Senate tickets under the APC, Barrister Lawan Ibrahim, and Bappah Misau. They have also joined the PRP to contest for the ticket.
“Two ex-lawmakers, Abdulmumini Ningi and Dayyabu Chiroma, have also defected to PRP.
“We defected along with 300,000 supporters to PRP to salvage the state,” he said.
The Bauchi State PRP Chairman, Alhaji Shehu Ningi, confirmed to News Agency that the APC defectors have joined the party after they were denied their tickets by their former party.
He said, “Dr Mohammed Ali Pate, the party’s governorship candidate in Bauchi State also left the APC and joined the PRP after the controversy which trailed its primaries.