The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Yobe State has denied reports of mass defection of its members and supporters to the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The state chairman of the ADC, Umar Kalli Alhaji, described the report, attributed to Alhaji Abdullahi Usman Maigida, as false and mischievous.
In a rejoinder, Kalli said no such defection event took place in the state, challenging those behind the report to provide evidence of the alleged event.
“No such event took place in Yobe. Had it occurred, those behind this propaganda would not have hesitated to back it up with videos and pictures,” he said.
The ADC chairman also dismissed the claim that the Wike-aligned PDP faction has a political structure in the state, saying it has no office, structure or grassroots presence anywhere in Yobe.
According to him, the faction also lacks representation in most of the elective positions to be contested in the 2027 general elections in the zone.
Kalli alleged that the report was intended either to attract political attention to the FCT minister or to extort money from him.
“We therefore urge the general public, party faithful and all stakeholders to disregard the report in its entirety. It is false, mischievous and lacks any basis in fact,” he said.
The rejoinder followed a report claiming that the Wike-aligned PDP faction had received defectors from the APC, ADC, NDC and other political groups in Nangere and Fune local government areas.
The report had also quoted the PDP governorship candidate, Abdullahi Usman Maigida, as saying that the influx of new members had strengthened the party’s grassroots structure ahead of the 2027 elections.
It further identified Dr Ibrahim Aliyu as among prominent political figures who allegedly defected to the faction.
The ADC, however, did not provide specific details in its rejoinder regarding the individuals named in the report or address their alleged defection individually.
