By Joseph Adahnu, Yola
In a stunning twist, a prominent gubernatorial aspirant on the platform.of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Maurice Vunobolki, has dumped the party only a few months after joining its fold, alleging lack of transparency.
He alleged that unsuspecting members of the public were hookwinked into participating in the party e-registration to create the impression of large membership following, adding that it is also a bait designed to rig internal elections.
Vunobolki officially resigned on April 13, 2026, accusing top party figures of orchestrating a shady scheme where innocent citizens’ National Identification Numbers (NINs), were allegedly hijacked without consent to create thousands of “ghost” members.
He alleged the scam was most blatant in Yola North, where bloated, fake figures were being weaponized to artificially inflate delegate strength and hijack the upcoming congresses.
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Speaking to journalists, the former APC heavyweight declared that this dirty tactic has destroyed the party’s internal democracy in the state and shattered any claim to transparency.
“The very foundation of our political structure credible membership data has been poisoned to serve the selfish interests of a few in the state,” Vunobolki thundered.
He revealed that he had joined the APC in February 2026 with a massive wave of supporters from all 21 local government areas, lured by solemn promises of fairness, level playing field, and genuine participation. But those assurances quickly turned to dust as evidence mounted of a calculated plan to manipulate the system from the inside.
Vunobolki further alleged that the committee overseeing the congress process was stacked with loyalists of “anointed” aspirants, turning the entire exercise into a predetermined coronation rather than a real contest.
He drew a sharp parallel to his bitter 2019 experience, where similar internal “arrangements” sidelined him despite fulfilling every requirement. “Now they’re back with a more dangerous digital twist phantom entries and manipulated registers,” he warned.
After wide consultations with key stakeholders and political allies who shared his outrage, Vunobolki made the tough call to exit.
He urged all his supporters to pull out immediately, insisting that staying in a rigged system would only validate undemocratic practices.
While he kept his next political move under wraps for now, Vunobolki made one thing crystal clear, his future will be built on credibility, transparency, and the true will of the people not backroom deals.
He issued a strong call for sweeping reforms across Nigeria’s political parties, cautioning that allowing these “dubious tendencies” to fester could completely erode public trust in elections and cripple democratic institutions.
All efforts to get response from either APC or the state government, met brick wall after several calls before the time of this report.
However, an inside source who refused to be named, described of Vunobolki as a desperate move, noting that after tasting the waters and found out his true rating, he decided to quit and rather than stay true, he went to town tissue of lies.
