The Niger State House of Assembly has dismissed reports circulating on social media that some lawmakers are planning to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to opposition parties.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, described the reports as false and unfounded, saying they were intended to create confusion among the public.
Sarkin-Daji stated this on Tuesday during a press briefing at the Assembly Complex in Minna, where he said all 27 members of the House remained united and committed to the APC.
According to him, the Assembly had investigated the reports and found no indication that any member was secretly negotiating with opposition parties.
“I want to make it very clear that there is no such move by any member of this Assembly to defect from the APC to any other opposition party,” the Speaker said.
He reaffirmed the lawmakers’ support for the APC, Governor Mohammed Bago and President Bola Tinubu.
“We are one and united family. We are behind APC, we are for APC and we will continue to be for APC,” he said.
The Speaker also commended President Tinubu for appointing Governor Bago as the North-Central Zonal Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council, assuring that the people of Niger State and the State Assembly would support him in the assignment.
Sarkin-Daji expressed confidence that Bago would deliver all six states in the North-Central geopolitical zone to the APC in the 2027 general elections.
He also dismissed suggestions that the Assembly needed reconciliation, saying the lawmakers remained united despite some members failing to secure APC tickets to return to the House.
He attributed the inability of some members to secure the party’s tickets largely to geopolitical zoning arrangements, rather than a lack of popularity or support from their constituents.
Speaking on behalf of the 15 non-returning lawmakers, popularly known as G-15, Mohammed Haruna said the group remained united and committed to the APC.
Haruna said the lawmakers had resolved their differences and would continue to support Governor Bago and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
“We are united. We have not lost any member to any party or any opposition. We have conquered and we will deliver,” he said.
The Assembly urged the people of Niger State and the general public to disregard reports of mass defection, assuring them that the lawmakers remained united and committed to the APC.