The Labour Party, LP, at the weekend lost its deputy governorship candidate, three senatorial candidates and seven candidates for House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Zamfara State.
They are Alhaji Sule Dansadau, the party’s deputy governorship candidate; Yahaya Audi Mafara, the Zamfara West senatorial candidate.
Others are Alhaji Sani Yusuf Danmasami, Zamfara Central senatorial candidate; and Engineer Adamu Yakubu for the Zamfara North senatorial seat.
Newsmen reports that seven party candidates for the House of Representatives and 14 out of the 19 candidates for the State House of Assembly also defected to APC.
They were received by the former Governor of the state and the chairman of Zamfara 2023 governorship campaign council at an organized defection ceremony at Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking at the ceremony, the state chairman of APC, Hon. Tukur Umar Danfulani, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Hassan Marafa Damri, expressed delight over their resolve to join the APC, which he described as a big plus to the party.
Damri emphasized that all right-thinking indigenes of Zamfara must be passionate about the peace and stability of the state and, therefore, must join hands in moving the state forward.
In his remarks shortly after receiving the defectors, the former Governor of the state, Hon. Abdulaziz Yari expressed satisfaction over their defection, saying that they took the wise decision by dropping their political ambition and joining the ruling APC.
Former Governor Yari assured them that APC is a political party for the people of Zamfara when considering its previous domination of power back from the defunct APP, ANPP and now APC.
Earlier in their declarative statements, the deputy governorship candidate and Zamfara Central senatorial candidate, who spoke on behalf of other defectors, said, they resolved to drop their respective ambitions to support APC because of the current peace and stability after reconciliation between former Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle.
They assured to mobilize all their supporters during the election and vote for APC Candidates from top to bottom.
Among the important personalities who witnessed the ceremony are, Leader of A A Yari political movement, Hon. Lawal M Liman; Commissioner National Population Commission, Alhaji Muhammad Muttaka Rini; former Majority leader of Zamfara State House of Assembly, Hon. Isah Abdulmumin; Talata Mafara North State House of Assembly candidate, Hon Aliyu Ango Kagara; and Alhaji Umar Mohammed Bakura, among many others.
Recall that the defection took place a few days after the Labour Party had its campaign rally in the state.