APC’s internal crisis lingers as another ward exco issues Ganduje fresh suspension 

• You are impersonators, factional leader tells new group
• CUPP cautions INEC against tampering with Ganduje ward exco list
• Kano APC threatens legal action against impersonators
• Politicians who show contempt for court orders must be sanctioned – Ganduje’s aide

Unrelenting, the band of party stakeholders at the grassroots have refused to back off on the suspension bid of the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as new ward executives in Ganduje ward, Dawakin-Tofa local government area of Kano State yesterday, imposed fresh suspension on the embattled national chairman and former governor of the state.

In what began as child’s play last week, a group of 11 persons led by one Haladu Gwanjo, who claimed to be leaders of Ganduje ward suspended the APC chairman from the party over corruption allegations instituted by the state government in a reminiscence of the 2020 playbook intrigues that led to the eventual removal of Adams Oshiomhole as APC national chairman.

Few hours later, a 25-member group surfaced only to claim the real authority of Ganduje ward. Led by Ahmad Mohammed, the group of 25 who described the G-11 as impostors dismissed the suspension. In a wave of the hand, the party’s chieftains at the state and headquarters dismissed the suspension.

From the blues, a court order from the state affirmed Ganduje’s sack, setting the stage for legal fireworks that may set the tone for the intrigues and battle of wits ahead of the 2027 politicking.

While some political watchers are pointing accusing fingers at the presidency for Ganduje’s travails over an unstated pact by the presidency to court Kano strongman and national leader of the New National People’s Party (NNPP), Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso for 2027, others are insinuating that the rumoured pact for Kwankwaso to replace Kashim Shettima as vice president on the second-term ticket of President Bola Tinubu is a stretched ploy to further unsettle the ruling party by causing a wedge between the president and VP, with Ganduje as the fall guy.

But as the proxy war and shadowboxing rage behind the scenes, in an intriguing twist, a new group that claimed to be the legitimate party officers legally and validly elected on July 31, 2021, in Ganduje ward, threatened to institute legal action against any impersonator parading themselves as APC excos in the area after serving a fresh suspension on the national chairman.

Addressing journalists in the early hours on Sunday, secretary of Ganduje ward, Ja’afar Adamu Ganduje, who spoke on behalf of 11 other executive members, said the new suspension is leveled against the national chairman for alleged involvement in anti-party activities in the ward.

The secretary lamented that Dr. Ganduje’s divisive attitude in the local politics in Ganduje ward was the reason for the membership collapse and the failure of APC to secure victory in the last election.

Adamu, who is Ganduje’s nephew, also accused the former governor of igniting a conflict of interest that led to two factional excos in the ward while bringing the party to disrepute in the mind of the public, another reason warranting his suspension. Also, Adamu alleged that the APC national chairman has not been paying his statutory dues to the party at the ward level.

According to Adamu, “We are the authentic executives of Ganduje ward and we have passed a vote of no confidence and imposed a new suspension on Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for a series of reasons.”

The self-acclaimed secretary noted that the two factions claiming to be excos of Ganduje ward are impostors being plotted by Dr. Ganduje and others in his camp to create controversy in the party. He further disclosed the readiness of the validly elected Ganduje ward leaders to take legal action against the two factions earlier claiming to be ward excos.

In a swift reaction, the Ahmed Muhammad-led factional chairman of APC Ganduje ward has urged the public to disregard any group of people claiming to be officers of the ward. Reacting to the emergence of the new group that imposed the fresh suspension on Ganduje’s membership, Muhammad said the 25 members under his chairmanship remain the authentic excos in the ward.

Countering the position of the Adamu-led faction in a statement, the Muhammed faction insisted there wasn’t a new election conducted by the state or APC national body to herald a fresh leadership in the ward.

“To worsen their situation, the leader of the group who announced the purported suspension is an NNPP member who contested but lost the councilorship election in Ganduje ward,” the statement said.

He, therefore, called on the national body of the party and security agencies to facilitate the arrest and persecution of Adamu’s group for impersonation.

Amid the claims and counterclaims, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) yesterday said it will oppose any attempts by APC to manipulate the authentic identities of executive ward members in Ganduje ward, as duly recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

During his address on Sunday, the chairman of the body in the state, Muhammad Abdullahi Raji, expressed concerns about signs indicating that the Kano APC is plotting to alter the list and include individuals who are not legitimate members. As a result, he advised INEC to exercise caution and not succumb to the influence of any single political party.

He also highlighted a statement made by Yunusa Zakiri Sarina, the state secretary of the APC, wherein he alluded to the forthcoming announcement of a new executive team. Raising the alarm, CUPP warned against any interference with the lists in INEC’s custody, as such alterations could lead to disorder in the state.

“The mandate of the CUPP is to uphold orderliness in the governance policies of Nigeria without aligning with any specific political party, government, or individual interest in this matter. APC should respect the rule of law and abide by the existing court order issued in Kano, matters of this nature should be resolved in court.

“We noticed that three factions are already in existence with each of them claiming to be executive members of APC in Ganduje ward, at this point, INEC should maintain what it has as the legitimate excos before the 2023 elections because any changes from what it has in its portal before the recent confusion will further engulf the state in crisis,” the statement noted.

HOWEVER, APC leadership in Kano has threatened to institute legal action against executive members of two factions emerging from Ganduje ward, who successively suspended the national chairman of the party. They described the two factions as impersonators, being used by the opposition to dent the image of Ganduje.

The state Public Relations Officer of APC, Ahmad Aruwa, who received the petitions written by the aggrieved party members whose names were impersonated, assured that the matter would be taken up to Abuja, “and those who are behind it will soon be arrested.

“We have alerted the security agencies on what has happened, and we are going to ensure that we arrest those impersonators, and they will be adequately punished according to the laws of the land,” Aruwa stated.

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to APC National Chairman on Public Enlightenment, Oliver Okpala, has called for sanctions against politicians who show contempt for court orders. He made the call while reacting to the latest suspension handed to Ganduje for a second time despite a Federal High Court Order in Kano stopping them.

In a statement, he said: “It is the height of rascality and disdain to the Nigerian judicial authority for the privies of the defendant in the matter between Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Vs. Haladu Gwanjo & 13 others, to mischievously hide under the canopy of a break-away faction to make comments against Ganduje. This is like the hiding of an ostrich, where the head is hidden inside a hole, but the entire body is exposed.

“It is laughable, although it is seriously contemptuous, as such a bunch of people who are known agents and privies of the defendants in suit No FHC KN CS 122 2024, are risking jail terms for going against a court order.

“When the court binds a group of people, their agents, servants or privies, to maintain status quo; the court knows why, and had contemplated that some mischief makers, could try to hide under another canopy to flout its orders.

“The interesting thing is that there was nothing like a faction of the ward executives before the court order, meaning that they all came to court as one, and were all bound by the court’s order.

“Therefore, no amount of gimmicks will make this group of people safe from being committed to prison for flouting the court order to maintain the status quo; unless the people concerned desire to look the other way.”