Why Key Niger APC Leaders Resigned

Fresh facts have emerged on the mass resignation of the members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State.

LEADERSHIP reports that the state chairman of the party Hon. Haliru Jinkatoro penultimate Tuesday put in his resignation letter before the executive of the party in the state followed by the state secretary of the party, Barrister Khaleed Paiko on Thursday and the latest is the state vice chairman of the party for Niger East, Comrade Abdulsalam Madaki.

Immediately after the resignation of the state chairman the vice chairman of the party from Niger north where he came from Mallam Abdullahi Bobi took over as the acting state chairman of the party.

LEADERSHIP findings however revealed that the resignation of the aforementioned officials of the party was not unconnected with the ministerial nomination process from the state and the last governorship primary of the party.

Sources hinted that despite the position of the officials that they were resigning based on personal reasons, they were peeved that the chairman of the party they were working for to get the ministerial nomination from the state was replaced by former deputy chief whip of the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Aliyu Sabi.

It was gathered that the party had earlier written a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to nominate Hon Haliru Jikantoro for the ministerial position from Niger State.

Sources hinted that upon receiving the hint of the letter written to the president, some powerful members of the party in government allegedly rushed to the presidency to submit the name of Senator Abdullahi Sabi as the ministerial nominee from Niger State and worked against the party chairman.

It was learnt that based on this development, the party officials decided to resign and leave to avoid the backlash that may lead to their forceful removal from office.

Another party source traced the reasons for the frosty relationship of the party officials and the state governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to the governorship primary of the party last year saying “we are not surprised about their resignation. Their resignation has long been expected. You know that the Jikantoro led State Working Committee worked against the emergence of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago at the primary.”

“They all worked for Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi during the primary election. So their resignation is long overdue. The issue of the ministerial nominee is also part of their resignation. Jikantoro was eyeing the ministerial slot from Borgu to be two from the same tendency of the party but Bago sensed the political calculation and decided to work for Senator Sabi from the same Borgu,” the source stated.