Crisis looms in Kano APC over dual list of candidates for council poll

KASIEC confirms existence of one list

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano has been polarised, as two separate lists of candidates have emerged for the February council election in the state.Two factions were said to have submitted different lists of candidates for the 44 Chairmen and 478 councilors to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KASIEC).

The factions, said to be loyal to former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and incumbent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, have paced posters in public places side-by-side with the past and present governors. Local radio stations are also being flooded with campaign jingles and programmes of the different candidates selling their candidatures and loyalty to the Kwankwaso and Ganduje factions.

A source at KASIEC disclosed that the party chairman, Bashir Yahaya Karaye and a factional chairman, Umar Haruna Doguwa submitted different lists to the state electoral umpire.He explained that a list of candidates was submitted to the KASIEC in December before the commission later extended the date while another list was submitted this month.

The Guardian learnt that although the party was riddled with leadership crisis, a directive from the party’s national headquarters confirmed Karaye as Acting Chairman seems to have laid to rest, the lingering tussle. But the emergence of two lists indicated fresh trouble.

Doguwa, a close associate of Kwankwaso, who was the party chairman since 2011 was impeached in 2017 and replaced by Abdullahi Abbas, who was said to be Ganduje anointed candidate.

But Abbas resigned in December 2017 upon being appointed Commissioner for Special Duties by Ganduje and was replaced by Karaye. Confirming the development, leader of Kwankwaso loyalists and Commissioner for Home Affairs under the former governor, Abdulsalam Aminu told The Guardian that APC was prepared to conduct the poll with the list of chairmanship and councillorship candidates submitted to KASIEC, which duly acknowledged it.

Abdulsalam maintained that the list was collated in Kano under Doguwa who remains the authentic Chairman.But in a swift reaction, Karaye insisted that no list emerged from any individual or group except that duly signed by him and submitted to the KASIEC.

However, KASIEC Chairman Prof. Garba Ibrahim Sheka, told journalists that KASIEC would only work with the names of candidates submitted to it by Karaye, who he said, was the recognised Chairman of the party.

“We only accept the list of candidates from either the Chairman or Secretary of political parties. If aspirants come to buy intent forms, we cross check if the name of the person appears on the list submitted by his party and if confirmed, we issue clearance for payment through the bank.

“For the APC, INEC gave us Abdullahi Abbas, but we received another letter which identified Bashir Yahaya Karaye as Chairman and that is the person we are dealing with,” he said.