By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto
SOKOTO — The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State, Hon. Hayatu Tafida Aminu, has dismissed the defection of the party’s former state chairman, Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alleging that he had abandoned the PDP about nine months ago.
Goronyo, in a resignation letter dated August 30, 2026, formally announced his withdrawal from the PDP before his subsequent appointment as Director-General of the campaign organisation of the ADC governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya.
However, Aminu, who spoke with journalists in his office on Tuesday, described the development as a formalisation of what he claimed had been an open secret in the state’s political circles for months.
According to him, Goronyo had allegedly been participating in ADC activities while still occupying the position of PDP state chairman, a situation he described as inconsistent with party loyalty.
“Bello Goronyo was the former chairman of the PDP, but he left the party about nine months ago because, in the Nigerian context, he cannot be in two parties at the same time,” Aminu said.
The PDP chairman further alleged that Goronyo had been functioning as a “de facto” member of the ADC while presenting himself as PDP chairman in the state.
He said Goronyo’s appointment as Director-General of the ADC campaign organisation therefore came as no surprise to the PDP leadership, insisting that it merely confirmed the direction of his political activities in recent months.
“Goronyo has always been a loyal party member on their side of the ADC, but in disguise, because he attends ADC activities as well as parading himself as the party chairman of the PDP, which is not possible,” he stated.
Aminu also dismissed arguments reportedly advanced by Goronyo’s camp concerning a previous court judgment, particularly the claim that the judgment did not categorically recognise one faction as the authentic leadership of the PDP in Sokoto State.
“That is their own argument and their own interpretation of the judgment,” he said, challenging those questioning the legitimacy of the present PDP structure to explain why prominent members associated with the opposing camp were now leaving the party.
The state PDP chairman said the movement of some prominent members to alternative political platforms suggested that they had already disengaged from the party and were no longer committed to its structure ahead of the 2027 elections.
Despite the development, Aminu acknowledged Goronyo’s role in his political career, recalling that the former chairman had once been his superior in the PDP and that he contested elections under his leadership.
“Unfortunately for the leadership of Bello, he was my boss actually, because I was in the PDP before under his leadership when we were together. All of us, I even contested under his leadership then,” Aminu said.
He, however, ruled out legal action against Goronyo over his resignation or subsequent appointment by the ADC, saying the party would instead focus on strengthening its structure ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We have not had and we do not intend taking any legal action against him or the other people of the so-called PDP,” Aminu said.
He insisted that the PDP structure under his leadership remained intact, adding that the party had completed its internal processes and submitted candidates for the 2027 elections.
“The PDP is one, under the leadership of Umaru Bature, who is our National Secretary, and I, Hayatu Tefida, as the chairman. We do not have any other faction of the PDP,” he declared.
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