A group within the Bauchi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the gubernatorial candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Haliru Dauda Jika, to return to the ruling party after losing the governorship contest to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate during March 18, 2023 election.

The group, known as ‘Bauchi State APC Support Group, urged the senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly to return to APC, the platform on which he was elected a senator in 2019.

It said that it was aware that Jika’s decision to defect to NNPP after what it termed “the questionable party primaries” was not unconnected with his interest to bring good governance and development to Bauchi State.

The leader of the group, Anas Abdullahi Mato, while addressing a press conference at the NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi, at the weekend, declared: “Our priority at the moment is to bring all hands on deck to the project of building our great country under the able leadership of the President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, both of whom are Jika’s strong and close allies.

“After losing the governorship election in 2019 in the state, Jika remained the only hope of the party in the state. In spite of all the political appointees in the Federal Government, Jika remains the only person supporting the party and its activities.

“Considering these and the need to give hope to our teeming party faithful, we hope Senator Haliru Dauda Jika will listen to our collective call and rejoin the All Progressives Congress for the overall interest of the party and the country at large.”