By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, on Tuesday in Kano received hundreds of supporters of the New Nigeria People’s Party(NNPP) who defected to the All Progressives Congress(APC).
The decampees included members of the Kano State Amalgamated Traders Association, butchers, youths, social media influencers, Islamic scholars and Imams of Juma’at Mosques.
They told the Deputy President of the Senate that they were tired of staying in the NNPP alleging that they had been neglected by the NNPP-controlled Government in the state.
“We immensely contributed to the success of the NNPP in the 2023 elections but after the elections, we were abandoned.We no longer matter in the party, hence our decision to join the APC,” the defectors explained.
Receiving the decampees at a ceremony held at the Amani Event Centre,Sen.Jibrin who represents Kano North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, congratulated them for “taking such a wise decision.”
“I congratulate and welcome you into our great party, the APC.I congratulate you for taking such a wise decision to join the APC, Africa’s largest political party.
“The APC is a party of progress and development, and so, your decision to leave the NNPP and join the APC is a welcomed one, as you have chosen to be part of the development and dividends of democracy being spread by the APC-controlled Government across the country,” he said.
Such dividends, the lawmaker said, included the establishment of the Northwest Development Commission, the upgrading of the Federal College of Education,Kano,to Federal University of Education, Kano, and the upgrading of the Federal Polytechnic, Kabo, to Federal University of Science and Technology, Kabo.
He assured the decampees of equal treatment and opportunities alongside other members of the APC and urged them to work for the development and success of the party in all elections.
Earlier in his remarks, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Alhaji Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, also welcomed the decampees into the APC,and urged them to support the administration of the President Bola Tinubu in its continued efforts to improve the lives of all Nigerians.
Such efforts, Ata said, include the provision of affordable houses under the Renewed Hope Housing Agenda across the country.
Highlights of the reception ceremony included the removal of the symbolic red caps from the heads of the former NNPP supporters and replacing them with the largely-green APC caps, amid thunderous ovations from the APC supporters present.