I’m not aware Dogara has left APC – Gov Abubakar

By Umar Muhammad Puma

Bauchi state governor Muhammed Abubakar, has said he was not aware of the defection of the Speaker of House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaker Dogara has yesterday submitted his nomination and expression of interest forms of the opposition PDP for the re-election, confirming his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking to journalists in Abuja yesterday after undergoing governorship Screening, Abubakar said: “The Speaker represents a constituency that has a total of 70, 000 registered voters. In 2015, I won election with a margin of 393,000. So, that answers your question.”
When asked for his chances of winning re-election following the exit of Speaker Dogara to the PDP, the governor said: “Well, I don’t know whether he has defected. Has he? Well, I don’t know but I learnt some people presented him with a form, PDP form. But we haven’t heard any specific statement from him that he has defected. So I am waiting for that.”
He however said the exit of Hon. Dogara would not affect his aspiration for a fresh mandate in 2019.
Meanwhile the Niger state governor Alhaji Sani Bello, said that the party’s stakeholders have met and decided to settle for the direct primary in the state.
Bello, who was also seeking reelection told newsmen after his screening in Abuja yesterday that all the APC stakeholders in his state were on the same page as regard the mode of primary election.
When asked on the strategies putting in place to ensure that APC win at the general election in Niger, the governor said: “With the adoption of the direct primary the party is becoming more popular. We will try as much as possible to uphold fairness and justice in the party, and give everyone equal opportunity to vie for any position they want. We will ensure that by God’s grace we have outstanding victory in 2019.”