APC chairmanship: protesters insist on Ganduje’s resignation, urges return seat to North Central zone

The last is yet to be heard of the controversy surrounding the suspension of the national chairman of the All progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as scores of persons stormed the national secretariat of the party calling on him to step down from his office.

Led by Mr Mohammed Saba, the group adduced the recent suspension of Ganduje by a faction of his ward executives and the alleged bribery allegation levelled against him by the Kano State government as reasons for their actions.

The call is coming against the backdrop of the vote of confidence for Ganduje by the Forum of APC State Chairmen at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

Some of the banners brandished by the protesters read, “Ganduje must resign” and “Return the APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters called on President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to consider returning the chairmanship seat of the party to the region.

The protesters under the aegis of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders argued that the continued stay of Ganduje in office was a clear violation of the zoning process in the party.

They maintained that the people of North Central felt betrayed when the position of APC national chairman was hijacked from them following the exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu despite giving Tinubu the third highest votes after North West and South West at the 2023 presidential election.

They noted: “We the North Central APC Concerned Stakeholders have resolved to unanimously agitate for our right and reclaim our mandate which was handed unto us by the National Convention of our great Party in 2022.

“Various sections of our constitution have established the procedure of replacing an executive member at all levels of the party in the event of death, resignation, incapacitation or expulsion from the party by any executive member.

“It is a fact that the emergence of Dr. Umar Ganduje as national chairman was done against the spirit and soul of the APC which is the constitution of our great party. This singular act has impacted negatively on us as a people in the North Central. We feel betrayed and spited because we gave His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the third highest votes after North West and South West in the country which put us in a better position to enjoy the fruit of our labour.

“We, therefore, demand that Dr Umar Ganduje resign immediately and stop parading himself as the National Chairman of our great party; the zoning arrangements made by the National Convention in 2022, which zoned the office of the national chairman to the North Central be respected by the NEC and all other organs of the party and that all governors elected on the platform of the APC in the North Central should wake up from their slumber and mobilize their members against this impunity until Ganduje resigns as the national chairman.”