‘Let’s redeem ourselves from failed rulers’ — Ganduje’s ex-aide joins PRP

Salihu Tanko-Yakasai, former spokesman of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, has joined the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) — days after leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Friday, Tanko-Yakasai said he joined the party “to take our destiny into our hands and redeem our country from misgovernance and near-total collapse”.

He was sacked by Ganduje in February 2021 for making “continued unguarded comments” and criticising President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tanko-Yakasai accused the APC government of failing to protect the lives and property of Nigerians in the wake of kidnappings and gunmen attacks across the country.

While announcing his exit from APC early this month, he said the party has failed to fulfil its promises to Nigerians.

In the statement indicating his switch to PRP, Tanko-Yakasai said he opted for the party because he has “decided to come back home to the politics of ideology and emancipation of the Talaka”.

He urged his supporters to join the party and “redeem ourselves from the failed rulers and their system that has turned poverty into a national epidemic”.

“I joined partisan politics in December 2000 precisely with such dreams in mind. I aligned myself with those I thought knew better. Like every novice politician, I looked up to those I thought were better experienced. I dutifully and respectfully followed them. That took me from one party to another, the AFP, then ANFT, followed by the CPC, all of which later on collapsed as the APC,” he wrote.

“Now I am proud to say that I am my own man, my own boss, my own voice, my own spirit. In essence, I am free. And freedom is the bedrock of all politics. To be able to choose is to exercise the highest form of liberty. I have always admired the PRP for its principles, its determination to actualise them against all odds, and its rich history. My encounter with some of its existing members helped to convince me that my trust is not misplaced.

“After careful consideration, consultation, and deep reflection, I have decided to come back home to the politics of ideology and emancipation of the Talaka. Today, I am officially joining the PRP as a member.

“I now call on all my supporters here, present and absent, to come forward and join the party of Abdul Kadir Balarabe Musa, Abubakar Rimi, and Aminu Kano. This party was held together by Balarabe Musa after the passing of his predecessors. All of them wanted this party to survive them and reach us to continue with the struggle for redemption. Today that struggle is ours. We embrace it with love, courage, and fearlessness.

“And it is my fervent hope that my friends, political associates, and teeming supporters will join the PRP with zeal to ensure that we revitalise it together for victory in all future elections. We have no other choice but to take our destiny into our hands and redeem our country from misgovernance and near-total collapse. With the PRP, there will be a future for democracy, development, and freedom in Nigeria.”