Francis Sardauna in Katsina
Concerned citizens of Daura have distanced themselves from the endorsement of President Bola Tinubu and Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, made on Monday by some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the local government.
Arising from their meeting held on Tuesday at the Premium Sports and Event Centre, Daura, the concerned citizens described the endorsement as misleading and not reflective of the collective position or aspirations of the people of Daura.
Some APC stakeholders in Daura, led by the Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Hon. Nasir Yahaya-Daura, on Monday, endorsed President Tinubu and Governor Radda’s re-election bids ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking at the endorsement gathering held at the Daura Local Government secretariat, Yahaya-Daura said it was a unanimous decision reached by the people of the local government because of Tinubu and Radda’s purposeful leadership.
But Muhammad Lawal Na-lado, who spoke on behalf of the concerned citizens, noted that the endorsement was purely an internal affair of the APC members and should not have been presented as the unanimous decision of Daura citizens.
He said: “We were never invited, consulted, or asked to air our views before such a far-reaching decision was taken. You cannot sit in a corner, under the platform of a political party, and claim to speak for all the people of Daura.
“If they want to say Daura APC has endorsed President Tinubu and Governor Radda, that is their right. But it is wrong to say the people of Daura have endorsed them. That claim is false and unacceptable.”
Na-lado stressed that the group he represents is made up of concerned Daura citizens across different political parties, including APC, Accord Party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that their action was not an attack on the ruling APC.
According to him, “We are not fighting APC, and we have no personal grudge against anyone. What pains us is the attempt to use the name of Daura people without our consent.”
He explained that the decision to address the public became necessary after several stakeholders began receiving calls suggesting that the endorsement reflected the position of Daura as a whole.
He stated that even some APC members in Daura later protested that they were not part of the meeting where the endorsement was announced.
On allegations that the group’s stance was aimed at promoting a potential gubernatorial aspirant from Daura, retired Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, the former Accord Party National chairman dismissed the claims as baseless.
