The Zamfara State Government has dismissed any notion of panic following reports that Bello Nakwada has moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the development as much ado about nothing.
In a statement released on Friday in Gusau, Malam Sulaiman Tudu, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Secretary to the Zamfara Government (SSG), Malam Abubakar Nakwada, said the political decision of the SSG’s younger brother poses no threat and raises no eyebrows. According to him, ”There are no worries to the SSG about the defection of his younger brother to the APC.”
Tudu noted that political differences within families are hardly new terrain in Nigeria’s democracy, pointing out that even prominent figures have found themselves on opposite sides of the partisan divide. He said, “Looking at our political terrain, this isn’t the first time family members have politically opposed each other, including the likes of Atiku Abubakar, a presidential aspirant whose biological son recently joined his father’s major rival political party.”
Turning the spotlight back on the APC, Tudu challenged the party to address contradictions within its own ranks. “If there’s anything interesting about this, the Zamfara APC should explain why Hon. Yahaya Yari, the younger brother of their supreme leader, Sen. Abdulaziz Yari, is in the PDP,” he said.
He accused the APC of deliberately inflating the defection to score cheap political points, stressing that the party was attempting to cloak the move in the garment of political significance. “Today, the Zamfara chapter of the APC hit the headlines with a press statement, trumpeting the defection of Bello Nakwada, a brother to the Secretary to the Zamfara Government, Malam Abubakar Nakwada, who decided to bolt into their party,” Tudu stated.
According to him, the narrative was carefully spun to suggest a seismic shift in Zamfara politics. “The APC has cleverly framed the story around the SSG, trying to portray the development as a game-changer in Zamfara politics, while in reality, it’s just a spin to divert attention from the party’s internal meltdown,” he said.
Tudu added that the story would hardly attract attention without leaning on the SSG’s name. “I can understand that the story wouldn’t be newsworthy without riding on the SSG’s profile, especially since they know that the decampee is a political paperweight,” he remarked.
He further argued that the timing of the report was telling, coming amid a steady exodus of key APC figures into the camp of Governor Dauda Lawal. Tudu said that “many influential APC members in the state were dumping the factionalised party and joining forces with Gov. Dauda Lawal,” including former APC State Chairman, Alhaji Lawali Makaman-Kaura, youth mobilisers Jamilu Escape and Ramadan Mijinyawa, alongside several others across the state.
Describing the APC’s celebration as an act of desperation, Tudu said, “The APC’s fuss and efforts to masquerade this defection as a major victory or something serious only exposes their desperation to fake relevance.”
He emphasised that political choice remains a personal right in a democracy. “Let them be reminded that we are in a democracy that allows any adult to decide which political party they join that aligns with their interests. The SSG’s family members aren’t an exception to this general democratic principle,” he said.
Tudu maintained that while individuals are free to chart their own political paths, the SSG remains firmly committed to governance. According to him, if any family member does not share Governor Lawal’s reform agenda, “that’s their choice,” but he stressed that “what should be clear is that the SSG wouldn’t compromise his position to satisfy anybody’s greediness.”
He concluded that the SSG remains focused on supporting Governor Lawal’s vision for Zamfara and, in his words, “wouldn’t be distracted.”
