By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Alhaji Bashir Sai’du, the former Chief of Staff (CoS) and a political ally of detained ex-Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has promised to deliver Zazzau emirate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections, to demonstrate his political clout.
Alhaji Saidu, who recently defected from African Democratic Congress (ADC) with his teeming supporters, gave this assurance when the governor’s Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs, Hon. Isa Lawal, visited him at his residence.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State belongs to the APC and has been involved in bitter political feud with El-Rufai, his estranged political godfather, who is currently in detention over alleged mismanagement of public funds and other issues.
Speaking during the visit, Alhaji Saidu pledged his full commitment to APC, adding that he will prove to those who said that he left ADC alone, that he defected with thousands of his supporters to the ruling party.
Alhaji Saidu, who was also Commissioner of Finance during the El-Rufai administration, said that the result of the coming election will be different in Zaria Local Government Area (LGA), vowing to exceed past records.
He promised that APC will get more votes in Zaria than what the people gave the now-late President Muhammadu Buhari in past elections, adding that there are about 3,091 like-minds who are card carrying members of ADC from Lere LGA that will soon join APC.
The former CoS, who spoke in Hausa, also said that there are about 4,000 such people in some LGAs, vowing that those people who doubt his capacity will witness his strength.
‘’I will not boast about my capacity in other areas but in the 11 Local Governments of Zazzau emirate, we will show our strength and no one has the kind of followers that we have,’’ he said.
According to Alhaji Saidu, he is also politically grounded in Igabi and Kaduna South LGAs as he is in Zaria LGA.
He pointed out that his supporters are not just run-of-the-mill politicians but people who can be trusted, adding that he has already joined APC with 10,000 persons.
‘’We will prove that Allah has endowed us with supporters and these people believe in us politically. We have been meeting and fashioning out modalities of how we will win elections.
‘’This will not preclude the state government from planning independently. When the time comes, if there is the need to blend with us, fine. If you want us to plan concurrently and we meet at the polls, it is also ok,’’ he said.
*PHOTO CAPTION: L-R: Alhaji Saidu, and El-Rufai.
