13th December, 2019
Former federal lawmaker, Kabir Marafa, said some governors are plotting to replace Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with AbdulAziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state.
Marafa made the statement while speaking with journalists in Zamfara on Friday.
Marafa alleged that the governors are out to take control of the structures of the ruling party. He added that they are indirectly targetting President Muhammadu Buhari with the aim to make the president and his supporters politically irrelevant before the 2023 general election.
Marafa, however, refused to disclose the identities of the governors.
Marafa said: “The fight is not against Oshiomole, it is actually against the president himself. It is only that they don’t have the guts to say it now, but they will when the time is ripe.
“It is evident that the plot to unseat Comrade Adams Oshiomole by a gang of President Buhari’s adversaries has thickened. This plot is merely aimed at hijacking the party structures and handing it over to Yari – who till now is the arrowhead of all the people that harbour a lot of bitterness against the president.
“The Governors in concert with their cronies, within and outside the party, are doing everything possible to hijack the party structures to ensure that the president and his sympathisers are edged out of power equation in 2023.”
Marafa asked the president to be wary of Yari, citing instances in the past where he (Yari) “acted against Buhari”.
“Yari and his co-travelers’ stock in trade is treachery and backstabbing. The earlier the president and his men realizes it and act accordingly, the better for them and the party itself,” he said.
“Remember 2003 when the president and his party the ANPP lost the general election? While the president and his men were nursing the wound of losing the election, one of the ANPP Governors now a major pillar of Yaris support and collaborator, was sighted on national television cutting PDP Victory cake in the Villa! That is how all of them are.
“All these machinations are geared toward hijacking the party or bouncing back to relevance and once that is done, the party’s future is doomed. President Buhari should buckle up to save the party from falling into the hands of his adversaries in his own best interest, the interest of the party, and that of the nation in general.
“The party is built on justice, equity and fairness and that will surely be eluded if the likes of Yari are allowed to succeed. Make no mistake sir, those asking for Oshiomhole’s head today, are actually looking for your jugular.”
The clash between Marafa and Yari made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take control of Zamfara, which was a stronghold of the AP.