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Kaduna APC factions differ over candidates for council poll

By Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna
09 March 2018   |   4:07 am
Two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State have commenced the sale of forms for the upcoming local council poll. The two factions are the Shaibu Idris-led group, to which Governor Nasir El-Rufai belongs, and the Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi faction. Acting Secretary of the Idris group, Yahaya Baba Pate, told journalists at…

Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai PHOTO: TWITTER/GOVERNOR KADUNA

Two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State have commenced the sale of forms for the upcoming local council poll.

The two factions are the Shaibu Idris-led group, to which Governor Nasir El-Rufai belongs, and the Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi faction.

Acting Secretary of the Idris group, Yahaya Baba Pate, told journalists at the party secretariat, that: “Members of the party have been trooping in to purchase the forms.”

He said the police would take action on the so-called factional group, led by Hunkuyi.

According to him, 450 aspirants have so far bought forms for the chairmanship and councillorship positions.

He added that 100 aspirants bought forms for the chairmanship position, while 350 purchased for councillorship slots.

The group insisted that Idris is the state chairman of the party, who is also recognised by the national leadership of the APC.

But, the Hunkuyi group, which has its own party Secretariat has insisted on fielding candidates for the election.

In preparations for the poll, he had also recently announced a timetable for the party primaries and urged candidates to buy their forms.

However, Pate said members of the Hunkuyi faction “are impostors, we don’t know them in the APC and they are not recognised by the national body of our party.”

He said the sale of forms would end soon, while the screening of aspirants will commence on Saturday, and would last for six days.

The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prof. Kabir Mato, said: “The people of Kaduna State generally, are with this government and the leadership of the party in the state.”

Mato, who is a member of the state APC primaries elections committee, added: “It is not just about people putting up a structure and declaring it as their alternate party office.

“It is in the constitution that once there are issues in a political party, members are free to move.”

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