The Bauchi State Government on Sunday dismissed the fantastic claims of an All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant, Mohammed Ali Pate, to the effect that unless a direct primary is conducted to “test the popularity of all aspirants”, the party will lose in the 2019 polls in the state.

Pate had recently told newsmen in Abuja after being screened by the party: “We have made our case, if the party wants to win Bauchi State, it should put forward a credible, popular candidate. At this point, we know that the people of Bauchi are worried that an imposition will not bid well in the general election. So, we place our faith in the leadership of the party to do the right thing and allow fair process to play out. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that the APC will win in Bauchi State.”

Responding to the claims, Ali M Ali, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor MA Abubakar, said in a statement: “These are fantastic claims coming from him. It is also amusing. For a perennial aspirant for the office of Governor, he has an uncanny ability to hibernate for years only to surface at times like these. We therefore, ask how did he know the feelings and concerns of fellow citizens when he was not available during their period of tribulations? How would he know that the people of Bauchi were worried about a possible ‘imposition’?

“We think he is confusing his personal political agenda with the yearnings of the people of our state, a preponderance of whom are solidly behind the government of MA Abubakar. We are of the opinion that Pate is a spoiler on a MISSION to ruin the chances of the party by calling for direct primaries. The fallout of direct primary is hardly manageable up to general election. In 2011, CPC tried it and the outcome trailed it to the general election that turned out disastrously.

“Beyond this, it will amount to 8th wonder of the world for Pate to deliver the governor’s chair to our great party given the odds stacked against him. Apart from the previously listed, he is disadvantaged by geography and location. His history of disappearing acts at decisive moments is the icing on the cake of his political forays.

“The party at national level gave the options of choosing flag bearer. At the state level, stakeholders chose the delegates option. They went a step further endorsing the incumbent governor and president for the 2019 election. We are therefore, mystified how Pate’s doomsday prophecy of electoral disaster will come to pass. We counsel him to close ranks and join hands with other party stakeholders and the people of the state to consolidate on the gains made by the reformist government of Gov. MA Abubakar.”