The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has said that it has discovered a fake party membership card of bandit leader, Bello Turji, in circulation, describing it as a mischievous attempt to tarnish the image of the party.
The party’s spokesman in Zamfara, Yusuf Idris, disclosed this on Monday in a statement made available to newsmen.
Idris said the party came across a forged APC membership card allegedly bearing the name and photograph of the notorious bandit kingpin, making it appear as though he is a registered member of the party.
“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.
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. Similarly, the photograph of the hardened criminal used on the card is a widely known image recognised by security agencies and Nigerians in general,” Idris said.
He added, “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.
“The forgers also forgot that before anyone is enrolled by the National Identity Management Commission, the individual must complete a form containing full personal details before capture. How then could NIMC capture someone wearing a military uniform and carrying a gun on his shoulders? Such features are unacceptable.”
Idris further stated that records from the ongoing registration exercise in Kware Ward showed no identification number beginning with the code ‘26’, which is designated for Niger State, not Zamfara State.
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 but was falsely used on a Zamfara membership card, not to mention the wrong name,” he said.
According to him, preliminary investigations have linked the forged card to Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri), an associate of Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who was recently suspended from participating in the ongoing e-registration exercise due to alleged dubious activities.
“The forgery is linked to him because it first appeared on his Facebook page,” he added.
“The bottom line is 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.”
Idris explained that Zamfara State membership cards begin with the code ‘36’, not ‘26’.
“This clearly shows the ignorance of the perpetrators,” he said.
