Fresh crisis may erupt in the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the rumoured defection of Governor Bello Matawalle to the party.
Recall that the Zamfara APC had just emerged from a major crisis that made it lose its bid to retain power during the 2019 governorship election.
Factions loyal to former Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Senator Kabir Garba Marafa were reconciled in February this year.
But the impending defection by Matawalle from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may plunge the APC into a fresh crisis.
According to TheSun, reliable sources in the ruling party has revealed that the quest to get a second term in office, in 2023 is the major reason behind the governor’s move to the APC.
The source said while it is not a hidden fact that “the governor’s political godfather remains a former two/term governor of the state and strongly supported him behind the scenes, he (the governor) has been told that there’s no guarantee of a second term if he remains in the PDP.
“Zamfara has always aligned politically with the party at the Centre and he was told in clear terms that for him to run and get a second term, he has to defect to the APC.
“He was told, sometime last year that the best bet for him was ‘to return home and get the ticket to run for 2023.’”
However, another source said in as much as discussions on the governor’s movement to APC has been concluded at the highest level of the party, the local chapter of the party has been sidelined.
The Zamfara state executive of the APC, led by Alhaji Lawal Liman indicated that “they were not included in negotiations to bring the governor from PDP to the APC.
“Of a truth, the governor was formerly with us before he moved to the PDP but with the reconciliation moves initiated by the national leadership, it would have been better to have carried Zamfara APC along in the discussions.
“Now that we have peace, why are they doing to us, who stayed behind; even though some of us lost the golden opportunity we had in 2019?”
In another development, another source said as on Thursday evening, it “still remains hazy whether his deputy would move with him to the APC.”