Governor Nasir Idris has received three House of Representatives and State Assembly candidates from the African Democratic Congress, along with other members, into the All Progressives Congress.

The three candidates include Mohammed Ahmed, House of Representatives candidate for Arewa/Dandi federal constituency; Kabiru Abdullahi, Arewa state assembly candidate; and Muhammad Gazali, Gwandu state assembly candidate.

Welcoming the defectors at Government House, Birnin Kebbi, on Wednesday, Mr Idris described their action as a very wise decision.

He said, “We are not surprised by your decision because the present administration has touched the lives of people in different ways through the execution of numerous developmental projects.”

The governor assured the people of Kebbi that they would never regret electing a teacher to the exalted seat of governor, adding that many more projects were still on the way.

Mr Idris acknowledged that criticism was normal in a true democratic setting, “however, such criticism must be constructive”. He advised opposition parties that whenever they want to criticise, they should do so with concrete facts instead of blind criticism.

The governor also admonished the opposition to avoid politicising issues of insecurity, adding that security “is the responsibility of everybody, not government alone”.

Mr Idris promised to sustain his support for security agencies to enable them to tackle the menace of insecurity head-on.

He noted that the federal government would soon establish military formations at flashpoints to further beef up the security of lives and property across the state.

The APC chairman in Kebbi, Abubakar Kana-Zuru, described the defectors’ decision as apt and right, saying they had made a perfect choice.

Mr Kana-Zuru advised them to register with the party in their wards and polling units to become bona fide members of the ruling party.

Introducing the defectors, Yusuf Tanko-Sununu, former deputy humanitarian affairs minister, said they were impressed by the governor’s sterling leadership qualities and attracted to the APC.

Bala Garba-Manga, one of the defectors, said, “We, the ADC Legacy Group, carefully analysed Kebbi politics and came to the conclusion that we will defect from our old party, ADC, to APC.”

Asma’u Nuhu, the women’s leader of ADC, appealed to the governor to consider increasing women’s slots in his administration to give them a sense of belonging.

She observed that women account for 70 to 75 per cent of votes cast in any election in Nigeria, lamenting that women were always left behind when it comes to sharing political positions.

(NAN)