The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed a circulating membership card bearing the name and photo of notorious bandit leader Bello Turji as a forgery and a deliberate attempt to discredit the party.
In a statement issued on Monday, the party’s spokesman in Zamfara, Yusuf Idris, said the fake card was part of a scheme by “mischievous elements” who were unhappy with the ongoing e-registration exercise in the state.
Idris said the card was clearly fabricated, pointing to obvious inconsistencies that exposed the forgery at first glance.
“The forgery is easily detectable from the card itself, including the bold ‘26’ on the date, purportedly referring to January 26. The photograph of the hardened criminal used on the card is widely known and recognised by security agencies and Nigerians,” Idris said.
He added that the card could not have been issued by the party because APC membership registration is tied to the National Identification Number (NIN), which Turji does not possess.
“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,” he said.
Idris also noted that the purported card used a Niger State identification code ‘26’ instead of Zamfara’s code ‘36’, making it invalid.
“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.
The APC spokesman said the party’s records show no such registration, and that the forged card bore the registration number ID APC 261113000102, which does not match Zamfara’s numbering system.
Idris said preliminary investigations linked the forged card to Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi (Waziri), an associate of Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who was recently suspended from the e-registration exercise over alleged dubious activities.
“The forgery is linked to him because it first appeared on his Facebook page,” he said.
He also urged members of the public to disregard the fake card and said the matter had been reported to security agencies.
“We are confident that the perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
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