The Zamfara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied any link between the party and bandit leader Bello Turji, saying the membership card bearing his name and image is fake.
Yusuf Idris, Zamfara APC spokesman, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, describing the circulating membership card as the handiwork of mischief-makers opposed to the party’s ongoing electronic registration exercise.
Idris said party officials uncovered a counterfeit APC membership card designed to falsely present the notorious bandit as a registered party member.
“This was carried out by mischievous elements who are unhappy with the smooth, successful and coordinated manner in which the ongoing e-registration of members is taking place in the state,” he said.
He added that obvious inconsistencies on the card exposed the forgery, noting that “even to the man on the street, the forgery is easily detectable from the card itself, including the bold ‘26’ on the date, purportedly referring to January 26.”
Idris said the photograph used on the card further revealed its falsity, stating that “the photograph of the hardened criminal used on the card is a widely known image recognised by security agencies and Nigerians in general.”
He explained that party registration requires a National Identification Number, which Turji does not possess, stressing that “no person can be duly registered without a National Identification Number, which Turji does not have.”
“This further exposes the ignorance of the mischief-makers and renders their efforts futile, as APC programmes are largely flawless,” Idris said.
He also questioned how such an individual could have been captured by the National Identity Management Commission, asking, “How then could NIMC capture someone wearing a military uniform and carrying a gun on his shoulders?”
Idris said records from the Kware Ward registration exercise showed no membership number beginning with ‘26’, explaining that “from our records of today’s registration in Kware Ward, there is no ID number with the initial code ‘26’, which belongs to Niger State.”
According to him, preliminary findings traced the forged card to Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri), an associate of Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who was recently barred from participating in the registration exercise.
“The forgery is linked to him because it first appeared on his Facebook page,” he said.
Idris said the party had completely distanced itself from the document, declaring that “the APC e-registration coordination team in Zamfara, and indeed the state chapter of the party, completely disassociates itself from the fake membership card bearing registration number: ID APC 261113000102.”
The spokesperson clarified that authentic Zamfara APC membership cards begin with the code ‘36’, not ‘26’, adding that “this clearly shows the ignorance of the perpetrators.”
Idris urged the public to ignore the fake card, noting that the matter has been reported to security agencies.
“We are confident that the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.