APC apologies to Bafarawa over visit to Gov Wamakko

The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have
apologised to former Gov. Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State for
failing to intimate him of their recent visit to incumbent Gov. Aliyu
Wamakko.
A seven-man delegation, led by former Gov. John Oyegun of Edo and Gov.
AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara, visited Sokoto on Sunday to apologise to
Bafarawa as well as APC leaders and members in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the APC national leadership
had on Oct. 29 attended the inauguration of the Sokoto State
University, Sokoto, without intimating Bafarawa.
Similarly, the party leaders, led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Bisi
Akande and Chief Bola Tinubu, had on Nov. 6 visited the state, to woo
Wamakko to defect to APC, without informing Bafarawa and APC members
in the state.
"The National leadership of the party understands the disaffection
caused by their mistakes.
"Our visit here today is to make peace and offer our regrets that what
happened was a mistake of the head, not the body,'' Oyegun said.
The ex-governor said that the national leadership of the party
appreciated the crucial role which Bafarawa played in the formation of
APC.
Oyegun also urged the party members in the state to be "gallant and receptive".
Also speaking, Yari pledged that such mistakes would not be allowed to recur.
"Everybody is welcome into APC and the party needs more members to
fight the battle ahead in 2015, successfully,'' he, however, said.
Responding, Bafarawa said: "We have accepted the apology of the
national leadership of the party.
"We have to behave like democrats and nothing is impossible in
politics," he added.
He, however, said that the APC members in the state should be allowed
to "solve our local problems locally''.
Bafarawa stressed that the APC in the state was not stopping anybody
from joining the party.
"Doing otherwise is unconstitutional and Gov. Wamakko is welcome.
There is nothing that is impossible.
"However, nobody should externally interfere with our local problems
and the rules of the game must be followed duly," he added.