Niger State Governor and Chairman North Central States Governor’s Forum (NCSGF), Abubakar Sani Bello has underscored the compelling and expedient reason to reply to an orchestrated Online Social Media report against the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mary Noel-Berje, in a statement issued in Minna, said the report, written by one John Adams, is aimed to discredit and make unwary yet unsuspecting members of the APC and the public believe that the party is divided and in crisis in the state.
The online report, which appeared on Opera News, and captioned ‘Niger Senators Shun Governor Bello Peace Parley, As Crisis in the Party Deepens’ is not only untrue and fact-twisting but also misleading.
Governor Sani Bello said, contrary to the report, the APC reconciliatory meetings did not suffer any setback because the reach out is an ongoing process which will take the party through various constituencies, local governments and Ward levels in the state.
“Our reconciliatory efforts hasn’t suffered any setback, rather it is in progress and is already yielding the desired result. We are on track and can not be distracted by a Social Media outfit that has no knowledge of the Niger politics”, the Governor said.
The Governor noted that the absence of some members of the National Assembly at one of the reconciliatory meeting isn’t a yardstick to assume that the ongoing exercise, which had barely commenced, is a setback or that the party is in crisis.
He expressed regret that the Online Social Media outfit and its reporter are not only fixatedly opinionated about political issues in the ruling party and the achievements of the APC-led administration in the state but they appear to be sponsored by the opposition party.
According to him, the incessant and activated spate of negative attacks unleashed by Opera News through its reporter is a deliberate plot against the Governor and the Party by portraying that the party is in a state of disequilibrium.
Governor Sani Bello, who berated the report and the writer, noted that as the party’s leader and stunch advocate of internal democracy, he ensured that APC conducted one of the fairest, just and best party primaries ever in the state and contributed to its success also at the national level.
The Governor had also received commendations from party members and stakeholders in the state for providing a level playing ground for all aspirants that took part in the primaries without interference or anointing anyone of them.
He said despite putting the party on strong pedestal in the state, the Online Social Media outfit remains blinded by such unprecedented efforts because the primary intent is to depict a party in disarray.
“We are aware of some of these sponsored Online Media outfits and will not cow into their intimidating falsehood and desperately presumptive reports that are always negative and antagonistically discrediting”, the Governor stated.
Governor Sani Bello assured that all is well with the APC in Niger, and that the Abubakar Bawa Bwari-led reconciliatory committee, set up by the State Working Committee of the party, is progressing steadily without problem.
He reiterated the need for party members to put behind them the outcome of the concluded party primaries and forge ahead by supporting and working for all the party’s flag bearers in the overall interest and success of the party at all levels in the coming 2023 general elections.
