From Paul Orude, Bauchi
A group called Coalition for Action in Rebuilding APC has joined the calls for the Bauchi State Gubernatorial candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Haliru Dauda, to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to salvage the party.
Jika had left APC after the primary election to join NNPP where he ran for governor but was defeated by the incumbent governor, Senator Bala Mohammed.
Addressing journalists on Monday at the APC Next Level Secretariat in Bauchi, the leaders of the Coalition, Umar Bala and Comrade Kabiru Kobi described Jika as an asset that must be covered by the party to overcome its current crisis.
A statement signed by the duo, which was read at the press briefing, said the Coalition, which is powered by two groups- APC Discussions Roundtable and APC Youth Parliament, appealed to Jika to let go of the past and return to rebuild the APC in the state.
They said the Coalition seeks to unite all aggrieved stakeholders and restrategised against 2027 saying it was formed as a result of what it described as the abysmal performance of the APC in the just concluded general elections in the state.
The Coalition argued that Jika would be of high relevance to uniting all stakeholders of the APC in Bauchi State and hence must be encouraged to return to the party.
“We wholeheartedly respect and honour Senator Haliru Dauda Jika’s right and personal decision whatsoever in politics,” the statement read.
” However, we wish to state categorically clear that, we do not share his decision of leaving APC to another party which he participated in in the Gubernatorial race of 2023.
“This is because you cannot take part in the destruction of the house you built with sweat and hard labour”
The Coalition argued that Jika was one of the few exceptional leaders whose “contributions to the APC” were beyond measure.
The Coalition vowed to continue to appeal to Senator Jika, who represents Bauchi South Senatorial district, to persevere and come back to APC to salvage the party.
The Coalition promised to use all available machinery at its disposal to reach out and appeal the issue of Jika’s return to the leadership of APC at both the state and national levels.
“We are hopeful that Senator Haliru Dauda Jika will respect the dignity of members of the APC who felt the pain of missing his contributions to the party’s success from merger days,” the statement stated.