PDP chieftains defect to APC

Katsina college gets NUC nod for degree programmes

From Agaju Madugba, Katsina, Ali Abare, Gombe

Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina and Gombe states, Senator Ibrahim Idah and Alhaji Farouk Bamusa moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the weekend.

Idah represented Katsina Central Senatorial District under the People’s Democratic Party while Bamusa, a founding member of the PDP in Gombe, who once contested in the governorship primaries in 2011, announced his defection to the APC, in his ward, in Kwami town.

He moved with thousands of his supporters.

Before his defection, Idah belonged to the Senator Ahmed Markafi’s faction of the PDP.

Meanwhile, Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsinma, in Katsina State has received the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to award Bachelor of Education degrees in eight programmes at the institution.

Speaking at the weekend during the school’s maiden combined convocation ceremony, the Provost, Dr. Maigari Abdu, said the development followed recent NUC and the Ahmadu Bello University visitation teams which assessed resources at the college.

The provost noted that the school also had affiliations with a number of other institutions including the Bayero University, Kano, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, as well as the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, among others.

He described “brain drain” as one of the major challenges facing the school.

Said Abdu: “It is our hope to see the college take a leadership role in restoring the lost glory, respect and esteem of the teaching profession by producing skilled and competent teachers across all levels of education with the appropriate character to mould our future generations in an ever changing world.

“I call on our stakeholders to redouble their support to the college to enable it utilise its potentials and realise its aspiration and vision of one day transforming into a world class university of education.”

Also speaking at the programme, Governor Aminu Bello Masari reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the quality of education at all levels in the state.

“As soon as we took over administration of the state, government embarked on massive rehabilitation and upgrade of schools and colleges which were abandoned by the previous administration in the state,” Masari said.

He said that government would soon issue a White Paper on the report of visitation panel to the state’s tertiary institutions.

During the convocation , the college conferred honourary fellowship awards on the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdumuminu Kabir Usman, Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar, and a former Military Administrator of Katsina and Col. John Yahaya Madaki (retd). among other awardees.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State, Saturday,  sufferred another setback after one of its stalwarts defected to the All Progressives Congress, (APC, alongside with thousands of his followers.

Alhaji Farouk He said he took the decision based on clarion calls on him by his people for purposeful leadership. Alhaji Farouk said as a leader in the community there was no justification for him remaining in PDP while majority of the people are loyalists of the APC.

He said Gombe State, which is being ruled by the PDP has been left far behind in the current trend of tremendous change going on in the country under the APC leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He acknowledged the crises in the  state branch of the APC which he described as a leadership tussle but promised that his joining the party, among many others, is to bring a kind of consensus leadership for the party.

The APC Youth Leader in the state, Alhaji Garba Inuwa Akoma-Gona described the new entrant into the party as a welcome comrade that would further strengthen and bring cohesion into the party.

According to him, the coming of Bamusa into the APC will give the party viable chances of wresting power from the PDP led government in the state during the 2019 general election. “Therefore”, he said, “we will accord him all the necessary support, loyalty and homage he might require to move the party forward”.

It would be recalled that the PDP in Gombe State has witnessed a gale of defection prior to the recently concluded local government election.

A former member of the National Assembly, Senator Ibrahim, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Explaining his move at a programme during which he moved along with his ward’s PDP chairmen and secretaries in Katsina at the weekend, Idah described the PDP as being embedded in leadership crisis a development which he noted may render the party irrelevant as 2019 approached.

According to him, “the factionalization of the PDP is part of the reasons why I decamped to the APC. Why should I remain in a place where things are getting spoiled.

“I am a lawyer and I know what transpired in the court and I know what might happen in the court. Any one of them can emerge victorious but what will happen after the judgment?

“I had to leave the PDP and join the APC. First, I have studied the PDP and having worked with party, laboured for it, I have come to doubt whether there is a future for the party and I felt that if I am to continue being in politics, then the right thing for me to do is to go for a party that can satisfy my desires.

“I decamped with my followers at the ward level. So, today, aside me and my wife, children and brothers, I decamped with the PDP Katsina Ward Chairman and Secretary.

“Then in the 12 wards, I have sat with six PDP ward chairmen, secretaries and their followers. There are people from so many local governments who are not from here, they would not want talk or do registration here, so we planned to go to their local governments to receive them into the APC.

“I therefore call on all my supporters and to let them know I have decamped from PDP to the APC.”

Governor Aminu Bello Masari who later hosted Idah at the  Government House said the APC would carry along the senator, along with the new members of the party.

Meanwhile, in another development, though unrelated, the Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsinma, in Katsina State has received the approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to award Bachelor of Education degrees in eight programmes at the institution.

Speaking at the weekend during the school’s maiden combined convocation, the provost, Dr. Maigari Abdu, said the development followed recent NUC and the Ahmadu Bello University visitation teams which assessed resources at the college.

The provost noted that the school also had affiliations with a number of other institutions including the Bayero University, Kano, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, as well as the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, among others.

According to him, “it is our hope to see the college take a leadership role in restoring the lost glory, respect and esteem of the teaching profession by producing skilled and competent teachers across all levels of education with the appropriate character to mould our future generations in an ever changing world.

“I call on our stakeholders to redouble their support to the college to enable it utilize its potentials and realize its aspiration and vision of one day transforming into a world class University of Education.”

Also speaking at the ceremony, Governor Aminu Bello Masari reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the quality of education at all levels in the state.