Osinbajo intervenes in Zamfara APC crisis

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has intervened in the crisis ravaging the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, which denied the party opportunity to present candidates in the general elections except the president, in the state.

Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC-Zamfara Central), in a media interaction with State House Correspondents after a private meeting with Osinbajo on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the postponement of the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections provided an opportunity to APC in Zamfara State to resolve the conflict, reorganized the party and seek re-admission into the electoral process.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had insisted that Zamfara APC will not field candidates in the 2019 elections, following unresolved issues arising from the party’s primaries in the state.

A Zamfara State High Court sitting in Gusau and a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Jan. 25, gave conflicting judgments on the Zamfara APC crisis.

While the State High Court upheld the primary election conducted by the state chapter of APC, the Federal High Court in Abuja barred the party from fielding candidates in Zamfara in the upcoming general elections.

Marafa said he was in Presidential Villa on the invitation of the vice president.

“It has to do with the political impasse in Zamfara; he called to see if we can work a way out of it.

“Our discussions were quite fruitful; it was an honest discussion; he is a good man and he gave out a proposal which we are going to look at because I am not alone in the journey; I have followers and friends; we are going to look at it and I promised I will get back to him; today or tomorrow.

“The vice president is concerned that the problem still lingers up until this time and he promised to do the needful and we will tap from his years of experience and wisdom,” Marafa highlighted.

The Senator reiterated that the postponement of elections offered a window for discussion and resolving the crisis.

He said that if not because of the postponement, he would not have been in the Villa to discuss anything.

“It goes without saying that it is an advantage; if the election had actually taken place last Saturday, there will not be anything to discuss.

“So, I think it is understatement to even to say it is an advantage to Zamfara State,” he said.

Marafa said that the postponement had given Zamfara APC five more days within which to work out something.