Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, was suspended on Sunday by a faction in the Ganduje Ward of the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area in Kano State.
This was highlighted on Sunday when North-Central APC stakeholders demanded at a press conference in Abuja that the zone be given party chairmanship.
According to reports, the national chairman was suspended by some party leaders and Ganduje Ward Legal Advisor Haladu Gwanjo.The ward leaders stated that nine executive members of the APC ward made the decision, which was predicated on a $413,000 bribery case against Ganduje by the Kano State Government.
Following the action swiftly, Ganduje was ordered by the Kano State High Court to refrain from presenting himself as the national chairman of the APC on Wednesday.
However, the ward leaders distanced themselves from Ganduje’s suspension during a visit to the party’s national headquarters, adding that they had not filed a lawsuit with the Kano State High Court.They claimed that the suspension was the result of the state’s government, which is led by the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
However, the national chairman obtained an injunction from the Justice A.M. Liman-presiding Federal High Court in Kano, which put the Kano State High Court’s order on hold.After Ganduje filed an exparte motion to uphold his fundamental right to a fair trial, the decision was made.
However, an opposing group within the Ganduje ward, claiming to be the official executive members, harshly criticized the chairman’s latest suspension in the wee hours of Sunday.Speaking to reporters in Kano on behalf of 11 other executive members, the faction’s secretary, Ja’afar Ganduje, blamed Ganduje’s purported anti-party actions for the suspension. The APC national chairman, according to the factional secretary, has not fulfilled his legal obligations to the party.
“We are the legitimate executive members of Ganduje ward, and we have passed a vote of no confidence and placed Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje under a new suspension for a number of reasons,” he declared.”First, due to Dr. Ganduje inciting internal strife among party members at the ward level, we have suspended his membership.”Ganduje’s anti-party activities during the 2023 elections, which led to the party’s failure in the state, is another major reason why the authentic executive members resolved to suspend Ganduje.
“In a joint statement signed by Ganduje ward Chairman Ahmed Ganduje and Secretary Usaini Jibrin, respectively, the executive members denounced the faction as forgeries.”New officials who are frauds”They maintained that they are the legitimate executive members of the APC and insisted that neither the national nor state bodies had held any new elections to select a new leadership.They further claimed that the Kano State government, led by the NNPP, had organized yet another “bunch of non-APC members” with the intention of embarrassing the APC national chairman in order to get him suspended.
“To the best of our knowledge, as executive members of the APC’s Ganduje ward, there was no new election of new leadership of our party,” stated a portion of the statement. We are still the ward’s executive.”The sponsored group was unable to complete their assignment correctly because they drew a list of non-existent party executive members on a forged or uncertified headed paper.”To make matters worse for them, the group leader who made the announcement of the alleged suspension is a NNPP member who ran for council in Ganduje ward but lost.We appealed to the party’s national body and security services to help apprehend and prosecute the group for impersonating someone else and trying to sow dissension within the party. We beg everyone in our party to ignore this kind of disinformation intended to cause division within the group.The irate APC veterans claimed to reporters in Abuja on Sunday that Ganduje’s purported imposition on the party was inconsiderate and a blatant disregard for the party’s zoning procedure.The Ganduje, a politician from North-West, was chosen to succeed Abdullahi Adamu, the party’s immediate past national chairman, who is from their region, according to Muhammad Etsu, Coordinator of Concerned North-Central APC stakeholders.
In order to correct the situation and maintain Ganduje’s suspension while attempts were underway to return the seat to their zone, Etsu appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Executive Committee.”We urge all party leaders and interested parties to endorse the North-Central aspiration,” he declared. This would fortify the party, bring all interests together, and open the door for a strong APC to solidify its position across the board. Notably, we also urge people of conscience to pressure the ruling party to abide by the High Court of Kano State’s ruling, which forbids Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from leading the APC while the interlocutory injunction is being heard and decided.This is to prevent giving Nigerians the impression that the party is anarchic, lawless, and in violation of the constitution.
For this reason, we are urging the President and our party’s NEC to act swiftly to reposition the APC and ensure an inclusive NWC remake in which the North Central Zone reclaims the position of National Chairman, which it lost following the resignation of the previous Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.”Sunny Sylvester, an APC leader from Adamawa, supported the agitation of the North-Central stakeholders by stating that it was the proper thing to do.
After the press conference, Sylvester told our correspondent that just because some significant opposition parties are breaking the law, it does not mean the ruling party can not follow suit.”This position belongs to the North-Central,” he declared.
They were assigned it, and given Abdullahi Adamu’s departure from the party, it is expected that they will keep the seat.Sylvester objected when reminded that since Ganduje had obtained an interim court order calling for the status quo on all sides, the matter might turn into a contempt of court case.”No, Ganduje did not go to the court that issued the first exparte order; instead, he obtained the injunction from a court with concurrent jurisdiction.
It was incorrect. The judge ordered him to stop presenting himself as the national chairman. He ought to abide by it.Put differently, we are arguing that this seat should be returned to the North-Central, where it belongs. That is the understanding. There are multiple states that make up the zone. It is not my native North Central.
However, I believe that the proper course of action should be taken as a concerned party stakeholder from Adamawa State in the northeast.”The same thing occurred when PDP member Iyorchia Ayu was ousted; his zone demanded his seat. We are all aware of what happens next. However, we contend that the APC ought to act honorably. He said, “We ought not to emulate them.
Bala Ibrahim, the APC’s director of publicity, has a different opinion.Ibrahim maintained that the national chairman’s persecutors were only attempting to make fun of the law and the judiciary.”You can not have people doing things in the reverse when a court issues an order for status quo ante to be maintained,” he stated.
Not only is it blatant disrespect for the court system, but it also shows complete disdain for the judiciary and, consequently, the nation’s anthem. Now, the focus is shifting from politics to brigandage.”I believe that some people are attempting to demonstrate that they have no regard for the court, despite the fact that the court granted them power.” Someone ought to face severe consequences for this in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The law is reasonable and applies with common sense. Now, common sense ought to tell you to “maintain status quo” until the issue at hand is resolved.Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje acknowledged that reality, morality, and legality are the three underlying factors, despite his assertion that controversy and politics go hand in hand.
Everything will be fine as long as morality and legality do not overthrow reality. He really has complete control over the party, as things stand. He is the APC’s national chairman and a reputable figurehead. If that does not sit well with you, take your complaints to court instead of hiding away and doing things that will make you look bad in the end. Oshiomhole’s and Ganduje’s cases are not comparable.
This is an example of political misbehavior gone too far.Chief Oliver Okpala, the APC National Chairman on Public Enlightenment’s Senior Special Assistant Assistant, also held the same position.He asserts that those igniting the party’s crisis clearly require psychiatric assessment.
He declared, “Their primary goal is to create chaos and distraction in order to thwart the nation’s transition back to civilian rule and democratic practices.
Second, these individuals should be placed in jail custody for contempt of court according to legal procedure. Recall that a Federal High Court has issued a clear order mandating that everyone uphold the current situation in support of Ganduje and the advancement of his fundamental human rights.
Now, how can someone or anything disobey this rule under the pretext of belonging to a faction? As was previously stated, these individuals are disobeying an active court order.