APC should expel Yari, Marafa for contravening party constitution, says Shinkafi

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi has called for the immediate expulsion of the former Governor of Zamfara State Abdulazeez Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa from the party for contravening the APC constitution.

Shinkafi said the severe sanctions against the former governor, Marafa, and their supporters have become expedient as they have contravened the constitution of the party and flouted the directives of the National leadership of the party.

He made the call on Friday in response to a statement made by Yari where he opposed governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, who recently defected to the APC, from being the leader of the party in the state.

Shinkafi, the immediate past national secretary of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), who recently defected to the APC, said stringent action must be taken against Yari and Marafa to serve as a deterrent to other co-travelers.

He described the meeting held in Kaduna by Yari, Marafa, and their supporters where they denounced the directives of the national leadership of the party on the dissolution of the party’s executives at all levels in the state as a slap on the face of President Muhammadu Buhari and the entire national leadership of the party.

According to him, “The actions of Abdul’Aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa clearly violated Article 21 (a), (iii) and (iv) of the Constitution of All Progressives Congress, 2014 as amended.”

Shinkafi said Yari, Marafa, and their supporters should “note that nobody is above the law, therefore, the directive by the chairman of the national caretaker committee, Mai Mala Buni dissolving the state party’s executives from the ward, local government and state levels and also the appointment of governor Matawalle as the leader of APC in Zamfara is sacrosanct.

“As from June 21, 2021, governor Matawalle has been bestowed with the position of APC leader in Zamfara state, as such, any action taken by any member of the party was a violation of the party’s constitution.

“I am surprised that after Yari who told the world that he would support Matawalle to build the party, could now go back to Kaduna and hold another meeting challenging the national Caretaker Committee Chairman.”

Shinkafi said the attempts by Yari and Marafa to fractionalized the APC will be resisted and urged the national leadership of the party to take drastic punitive actions to save the party from the 2019 calamity.

“Yari, Marafa, and their supporters should be put under watch so that they would not have the chance of disuniting our great party.

“Yari and his supporters should know that we are now bonafide members of the APC as such, we will not fold our arms to watch some disgruntled elements to be spoiling our party,” Shinkafi said.

“They should know that they cannot intimidate us or remove us from the APC.”

The APC stalwart appealed to Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai to stay clear of Zamfara State politics, saying he has no right to interfere in the internal issues of the party.