• Lukman explains ex-governor’s travails
All Progressives Congress (APC) executive council at Ganduje Ward in Dawakin-Tofa Local Council of Kano State has sought an extension of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje’s suspension as national chairman by the court.
Nine of the 25 ward officers, led by legal adviser, Haladu Gwanjo, suspended Ganduje’s membership on April 15 before getting the court’s concurrence following a corruption charge by the state government.
Before granting a stay of execution of his order, Justice Usman Na’Abba of the Kano State High Court had granted the plaintiffs an ex-parte motion stopping Ganduje from parading himself as an APC member.
Challenging the order, the ex-governor described the prosecutors as impostors.
When hearing of the originating summon came up yesterday, Ibrahim A Sa’ad, counsel to the applicants (Haladu Gwanjo and Laminu Sani Barguma), intimated the court of an application seeking to extend the ex-parte order, pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.
In a swift reaction, counsel to 1st (APC), 2nd (NWC) and 3rd (SEWC) respondents, O. Duru, informed the court of an application on preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the state High Court to entertain the matter.
He told the court of the potency of his application against all other pending motions, harping on the constitutional provision that allows the court to determine the position of jurisdiction first before other matters.
On his part, counsel to the 4th respondent (Ganduje), L.O. Oyewo, enlightened the court that his client was not ready to proceed with the matter because he had not been served court processes.
BUT former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling party, Salihu Lukman, has explained why Ganduje came under attack from the state government.
In a piece titled, “Perils of Bad APC Leadership,” he said a part was the ‘absence of virtually all APC leaders’ in Kano.
He claimed that in about nine months, Ganduje did not visit Kano State more than twice.
Lukman said with such reality, and operating as an opposition party, it begs the question about whether the leadership of the party is at all interested in getting APC to win back Kano State.
He argued that if “President Bola Tinubu with all his busy schedules could find time to go back to Lagos State on more than five occasions, it is certainly scandalous that Ganduje will use his position as the APC National Chairman as an excuse for political truancy.”
Lukman said given the importance of Kano to the politics of the North, the President and APC leaders need to recognise the risk of keeping Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.
