By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Following the suspension of the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, by his Kano State ward, as well as the attendant crisis and litigations it has been generating, the North Central APC Forum has solicited for the support of its North West counterpart to get Ganduje out of office so the region (North Central) can reclaim the seat.
The forum warned the North West APC against backing Ganduje or passing any form of vote-of-confidence on him.
Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, 21 May, 2024 in Jos, Plateau State capital, on the outcome of last Sunday’s meeting of North West APC stakeholders held in Kaduna, the forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Mandung Zazzaga, said several votes of no confidence had already been passed on Ganduje from several quarters, and anything contrary to that from the North West APC would be counterproductive.
The chairman explained that commendation by the North West stakeholders in Kaduna on the leadership of the party was partly insensitive due to the obvious crisis rocking the party which is yet to be resolved.
Zazzaga, who was also a member of the Presidential Campaign Council in the last election, explained further that apart from Ganduje’s Kano ward, there had been other protests, litigations, among other agitations against him, hence his remaining in that office would only destroy the APC and cause friction among the members.
He advised that since Ganduje allegedly had loads of issues surrounding him, the best thing for him were to quit so he did not cause any harm or incur legal liabilities for the party and give the opposition an advantage.
Also, the chairman explained that the forum had been working cordially with the North West APC, and their counterpart should not allow the relationship to go sour because of Ganduje.
Zazzaga noted that apart from the issues surrounding Ganduje, “the National Chairmanship position of the party he occupies is for the North Central region, considering the party arrangements.”
According to him, it is therefore pertinent that someone from Nassarawa State or the North Central region replaces the former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, who is also from Nassarawa/North Central, but not Ganduje who is from the North West.
He said the North Central region had been engaged in several activities and had taken strategic actions to reclaim the seat, vowing the forum would not stop until it achieved the aim.
“We are cautioning the North West APC against any move to back Ganduje because he is from North West. Apart from the crisis rocking Ganduje and its ability to tear the party apart, the seat he is occupying is supposed to be for the North Central, and we are calling on our North West counterparts to support us as we push to reclaim it.
“The North West already has good positions like the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Deputy Senate President, among others, and the APC National Chairmanship position that by virtue of party arrangement should be for the North Central is being occupied by Ganduje from the North West.
“In the spirit of fairness and equity, the National Chairmanship position should be occupied by someone from the North Central region, because we too are part of the ruling party and we played a key role in the emergence of President Bola Tinubu in the last year’s election. We also performed well for the party in different elective positions.
“Notable among the remarkable performance of the North Central region is the winning of five states for the APC out of the six states in the North Central region, which is Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa and Kwara. So we deserve the leadership position of the party, and we will stand up to any region who wants to deny us of the position.
“We cannot afford to fold our hand and let the position or other benefit that is for the North Central region to be transferred to another region, hijacked or denied us since our region is also a critical stakeholder in the APC.
“So, we call on President Tinubu to intervene and revert the privileges of the North Central back to the region so that the region will not feel cheated in the scheme of things in the party and get discouraged as a result,” he said.
Zazzaga called on the people of North Central, irrespective of political, professional, ethno-religious and other affiliation to join hands with the forum to push for the ouster of Ganduje so that a rightful person from the region can occupy the seat.
He stated also that the hearing of the suit filed against Ganduje by the North Central APC Forum would come up 30th May 2024, and called on all the people of the region and stakeholders to pray and support the forum to emerge victorious.
