The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Kano state, Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, has reportedly left the party to pitch his tent with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was gathered that Bichi, who was one of the closest and a kitchen cabinet member  of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and also one- time Secretary to the Kano state government,has decided to abandoned the PDP for APC.

It was also gathered that hundred of Kwankwaso members also followed Bichi to dump the party for ruling APC.

A close ally to Bichi hinted the move to dump the PDP was taken before the judgement of the Supreme Court, affirming Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, victory as Governor.

“The decision of Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi had no link whatsoever to the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement.

“It was purely based on principles and his personal conviction,” said a close political associate who craved for anonymity.

Explaining why Bichi was leaving PDP, the source stated: “In the affairs of Kwankwasiyya, Rabiu Bichi has been lately rendered irrelevant, ostracised and sidelined from the decision-making of the Kwankwasiyya movement. Despite his commitment to the cause, and perceived  as a saboteur.”

His departure will further deplete the Kwankwasiyya group with the exit of former deputy governor Hafiz Abubakar; former managing director of NPA, Aminu Dabo and many others before  the 2019 general elections due to the alleged highhandedness of the leader of the movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Kwankwaso was accused of singlehandedly picking and imposing his in-law Abba Kabiru Yusuf as the gubernatorial candidate of the party without consultations with stakeholders in the movement.

When contacted, the PDP Secretary in Kano, Shehu Sagagi told our correspondent that though Bichi has indicated interest to decamp from the party in a private forum, he has not officially informed the party about the move.

Efforts to reach Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi or any of his political associates on phone for confirmation were not successful.

None of them picked calls placed to their mobile phones.

However, there are indications that the PDP chairman will be address reporters on Wednesday to announce his defection,  barring any last minute change.

Governor Mohammed Bala has reacted to the Supreme Court judgement which affirmed his victory in the 2019 governorship election in Bauchi state.

Speaking to newsmen in Bauchi, Bala disclosed that he had fears of being sacked just like Emeka Ihedioha by the apex court.

He added that his fear was heightened by the confidence his opponents showed before the court judgement.

Bala said;

“The Imo incident is one of such incidents that is a manifestation of a judicial process.

“It was a very painful outcome for me as a PDP member and as a friend to the former governor who was affected.

“It was something unexpected and I knew what happened to him could happen to anybody.

“Certainly it gave me some fears for the first time, thinking that maybe, the confidence expressed by my competitors had something to do with some assurances in some quarters somewhere, but I still had faith in God.”

The residents of villages along Damaturu-Maiduguri have cried out over the continous attack launched by Boko Haram insurgents against them, days after Governor Babagana Zulum shouted at soldiers who he accused of extortion.

One of the residents of the community who spoke to The Cable alleged that the soldiers left after Governor Zulum shouted at them, leaving them at the mercy of the terrorists.

He said;

“The soldiers have left and we are on our own now.

“Since that day that the governor shouted at soldiers, it appeared all of them left. After that day, there have been attacks on our villages on daily basis. Travellers are being kidnapped every hour and all the military roadblocks are no more there, because these attackers always go without being confronted by the military.”

Another resident disclosed that many are leaving their communities in the area, in search of safety in Maiduguri and Damaturu.

He said;

“Villagers in Auno, Jakana and Benisheik are fleeing in their hundreds to Maiduguri. The insurgents attack at least twice daily in these villages.

“It is also sad that nobody is talking, except the governor. The elders of Borno are not talking. The NSA, chief of staff to the president, NNPC GMD and EFCC chairman are all from Borno and none of them is saying anything about this sustained attacks on Damaturu-Maiduguri road. We are really scared right now, and that is why our people are running for safety.”

– The PDP in Kano has reacted to the verdict of the Supreme Court which upheld the election victory of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje

– The party said that it has accepted the ruling in good faith since the decision of the apex court is final in Nigeria

– The chairman of the party, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, said that the plan of the PDP in the state is to move forward The Kano chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court which on Monday, January 2, favoured Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Speaking after the ruling of the apex court in Abuja, the chairman of the PDP in Kano, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, said that the party has finally conceded defeat, equitynews reports.

Bichi said that the decision of the opposition party came after it contested the victory of Ganduje in the last governorship election at the tribunal, the appeal court and the Supreme Court. Imo governorship: Why Supreme Court judgment is mysterious

– Ihedioha He said: “We are grateful to Almighty God for the current situation. As you know we were at the high court where the decision was not in our favour and we went for appeal, there too it was not in our favour.

We then exploited the final option and went to the Supreme Court.” Kano state’s PDP chairman said that the party will move forward and make plans to achieve victory in subsequent elections. Ganduje:

Kano PDP accepts Supreme Court’s verdict in good faith Governor Ganduje was declared validly elected by the Supreme Court in Abuja on Monday, January 20. Source: Twitter

He called on supporters and members of the party to remain calm and maintain civility over the decision of the court.

Spend less on the Internet! Bichi said: “My call to our supporters is for them to remain calm over the recent development. Let’s put hands together to move our party forward

Tragedy struck on Monday during a protest by members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja as a truck conveying them to venue of the demonstration tumbled, injuring many of them in the process.

The incident occurred at the Transcorp Hilton Junction when the truck driver made a swift turn as the party faithful made their way to the Supreme Court complex to express their displeasure with the ruling of the court last Tuesday sacking Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State.

Junaid Mohammed, a second republic lawmaker, says Muhammadu Sanusi II, emir of Kano, lobbied for the position of vice-president when President Muhammadu Buhari was hospitalised in London.

Osinbajo presided over the country when Buhari treated an undisclosed ailment in London in 2017.

Speaking with TheInterview, Mohammed said the emir asked Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to consider him for the nation’s number two position in the event that the president dies.

The former lawmaker also alleged that Sanusi met with some south-west leaders to canvass support for a presidential candidate aside Buhari.

“Once Buhari was sick, very sick in England, he went to Osinbajo, this current Emir Sanusi; he was sure that Buhari was going to die. And if Buhari dies, he would like Osinbajo to consider him as a vice president, even though on the surface, he belonged to no party,” he said.

SANUSI WANTED TO BE VICE PRESIDENT

“He wanted Osinbajo to consider him as vice president! Now, anybody with any sense of logic, any sanity would not countenance this kind of thing. If for whatever reason, this issue was reported to Buhari, if Buhari were another leader, he would have got rid of him in a jiffy.

“I know for a fact, and I am glad there people involved who will now confirm. The Emir of Kano, when he was governor of Central Bank went to see my friend Bola Tinubu and went to see the current Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu telling them that a certain presidential candidate was actually the choice of Kano and the choice of the north. So, he would want them to support that person.

“The Oba was diplomatic. But Tinubu told him in no uncertain terms that we are supporting Buhari; not because we like his face. We are supporting Buhari because, consistently, he has scored 12 million votes since he came into politics in 2002.

“This is not the first time. I am now 70 years old. I am older than the Emir of Kano, who I have known since childhood. And I knew his father and mother.”

On the crisis between Sanusi and Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, Mohammed said there is no need to set up a committee to reconcile the duo.

TheCable had reported how Ganduje launched moves to remove the emir, who was reported to have opposed his reelection bid.

The governor broke the emirates into five shortly after the report, stripping Sanusi of the control of 34 local government areas of the state.

NOTHING WRONG IN REDUCING SANUSI’S POWERS

Commenting on the action of the governor, Mohammed said: ‘Now you are telling me that if the emir of Kano is somehow muzzled or his power is reduced or his presence on the national stage or his reckless political statements are curbed, Kano will not be the same? Or the north will not be the same? So what?

“The emirs are what they are because some people accept the emirate or the institution. I don’t. But even if I were the governor of Kano State, I would not want to demolish the emirate because apparently there are some people who respect the institution. I don’t. But that is another matter completely. But you have to be very careful about warning these emirs to keep away from politics.

“And as far as I am concerned, there is no problem to solve in Kano. If there is a personal quarrel between the governor and the Emir, okay, let them go and sort it out themselves. In trying to get involved in this matter, some people are being deliberately mischievous and they are fighting their own personal fights.

“There was an attempt to reconcile this matter within Kano people. I was in the United Kingdom before Christmas. I traveled with a one time Vice President of this country and we got to discuss this issue.

“The first question he asked is what is the locus of those so called northern elders? Who are they representing? How many of them have ever won elections in their lives? And how many people are from Kano? Of the three people sent to go and have a discussion with Ganduje, none of them is a Kano man.

“In fact, one is a known enemy of Kano State and he has spent the whole of his life abusing and insulting Kano and Kano people. Now you make him among the three people to go and see Ganduje in an issue that, strictly speaking is a Kano issue.

“As far as I am concerned, this issue is not a Federal Government or Buhari issue. It is a Kano issue. And the law that was passed was not a Federal law, which Buhari would have had the responsibility to implement the provisions of that law.

“It was a Kano law. And when the law was quashed on a technicality, they went back and rewrote the law. So what’s the problem? You cannot tell me that because the governor of Kano has taken a decision to split the emirate and create more, the heavens will fall. This is not new, not new in the north, not new in Nigeria.”

When asked for reaction, a palace source told TheCable that Mohammed is a distraction that the emirate would not want to join issues with.

He said the rumour out initially was that the monarch lobbied Osinbajo to make Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, Osinbajo’s vice-president.

On his part, Laolu Akande, spokesman of the vice-president, said: “I don’t react to speculations; it’s baseless.”