Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, has no plans to defect to the African Democratic Congress, according to the state government.
The governor is one of the ruling APC governors being speculated to dump his party for the ADC, the new coalition formed by key opposition political party leaders in the country.
They include, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour party, LP, former Governors Rotimi Ameachi , Nasir El Rufai, Rauf Aregebesola , former National Chairman of the APC, Odigie Oyegun among others.
Apart from Abubakar, who formally resigned from the PDP most of those who have joined the ADC are former members of the ruling APC. More are being expected to join the ADC ahead the general election in the country slated for two years time.
The state government however said Governor Buni will be the last to dump the APC for the ADC.
According to the Director General of Press and Media Affairs to Governor Buni, Mamman Mohammed, who spoke with PUNCH Online on Wednesday in Damaturu, the state capital, the suggestion that the governor is planning to leave the ruling party, is an “empty speculation” describing such report as baseless and false, “a wild dream speculation” of its paddlers.
Earlier in July, the newspaper had reported that at least five PDP state governors were planning to join the ADC.
Quoting a credible source in the ADC, the online newspaper disclosed that five PDP governors were expected to join the party, noting that some governors in the ruling APC are also clandestinely supporting the ADC.
The insider, a former senator from Katsina State, said, “Five PDP governors have given us their commitment; they are going to join us, but they want to see the end of Wike’s drama in the PDP. Hopefully, we will meet them by the end of their next convention and review things.
“What people don’t know is that some of the governors, including those in the APC, are supporting us. We started this coalition planning 18 months ago, and some APC governors were contacted about a year ago. So, they are with us, but I won’t tell you any names.”
Another insider, an aide to one of the former ministers and ex-governors, said he was aware that leaders of the coalition, including his principal, were in touch with seven governors on the move to sway them to the ADC.
But the source didn’t mention the political parties of the said governors.
“Why are you interested in knowing the governors we’re talking to? You want us to put everything we’re doing on the pages of a newspaper? No! But I can tell you that we are talking to seven governors, and they are from the southern and northern parts of the country,” the source said.
When contacted, the immediate past National Chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, declined to comment on the governors’ planning to join the ADC.
“That is a top-secret matter. You can’t hear it from me. If you ask about other matters regarding the coalition, you are very welcome,” he said.
This comes barely a month after a chieftain of the ADC in Plateau State, Dr Sani Dawop, disclosed that about seven APC governors had secretly been funding “an opposition coalition” against Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
Dawop, in an interview with Trust TV News on June 9, said, “There are about six to seven APC governors who are funding the coalition. Go and check and do your investigation. There are lots of issues happening, and even within the APC, there are those who are not happy with the way things are going.”
Governor Buni is a former APC Caretaker Chairman between June 2020 and March 2022. .
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