The intra-party crisis threatening to tear apart the Kaduna state chapter of APC, took a dangerous dimension with last weekend’s mob attack on some politicians and journalists. The attack was a fallout of the state’s local government delegates’ congress election towards the party’s national non -elective convention. ABDULRAHEEM AODU reports the untold story of the fracas
APC leadership lauds members on successful delegates’ congress Th e Kaduna state chapter of the All Progressives Congress commended its members for the successful APC delegates’ congress held last weekend in Kaduna despite what it termed anti-party agents. Kaduna state APC acting Publicity Secretary, Malam Salisu Tanko Wusono told a news conference in Kaduna last Sunday that last Saturday’s delegate Congress for the forthcoming APC non elective convention was very successful, well attended and supervised by observers from the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
According to Wusono, “the Kaduna state APC executive council, together with our local government party chairmen and other stakeholders, wish to address you today following the successful conduct of our delegates’ congress yesterday, Saturday, 29th July 2017. “We salute the cohesion and party spirit demonstrated by our members that made the congress successful. Th e good conduct of our party stalwarts and members across the state has been consistent and notable, and the state executive wishes to place on record its gratitude to our members. We appreciate and commend the dedication of the team from the national headquarters of our party who organized the exercise, and offi cials of INEC that monitored the congress.
“Th e APC in Kaduna state welcomes the outcome of the congress, an exercise that demonstrated and consolidated the party as a united entity, vibrant and supportive of the values that brought the APC into being. We call on the national headquarters of the party to expedite action towards enabling us to fi ll party offi ces that are currently occupied by offi cials in acting capacity, as provided for in the APC constitution,” the party leadership said.
APC Akida rejects ‘selection of delegates’, petitions national leadership However, the APC Akida group in the state said it has written petition to the national leadership of the party rejecting what it called ‘selection of delegates’ for the convention and requesting the party to come and organise an acceptable delegates congress following the guidelines that would yield acceptable delegates from the state.
Spokesman of APC Akida, Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, representing Kaduna North Senatorial zone, told journalists at the NUJ secretariat in Kaduna that they were at the party secretariat last Friday from 2:30pm till 7:30 pm waiting for the party leadership and observers from the national headquarters to conduct the delegate conference but nobody showed up. Hunkuyi was fl anked by ex-APC gubernatorial aspirants, Hon Isah Ashiru and Alhaji Haruna Saeed Kajuru, servings reps, Alhaji Hassan Shekarau, Alhaji Mohammed Usman, Malam Musa Soba, Chairman of Liberty Radio and Television, Dr Tijjani Ramallan, former Kaduna state chairman of PDP, Alhaji Audi Yaro Makama and Ambassador Sule Buba.
According to Sen. Hunkuyi, “Th e local government delegates’ election was scheduled for the party secretariat on Friday by 2:30pm to elect three delegates per local government to represent the local government as ad-hoc delegates at the APC national convention. We were there at the party secretariat until 7:30pm Inside Kaduna APC crisis We can reconcile with anybody, everybody but not Shehu Sani because we suffered a lot to bring him back to the fold but he refused to respect the party when we left but the acting Chairman, party leadership and national observers did not show up.
“All eff orts to convince the state leadership of the party to hold this congress failed instead somebody in the name of political adviser to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, Alhaji Uba Sani gathered people together and confronted them with the list of delegates appointed for the convention. “Our unanimous stand is that we are all product of election or those who wish to seek for one post or another, so why won’t we submit ourselves to the same people who elected us. “We have written two petitions, one is addressed to the national chairman copying other leaders of the party stating that the process has been breached so they should fi x another day to come and conduct the delegate election. We have also written to the national working committee to appeal that the election be conducted in line with the electoral guidelines,” Hunkuyi said.
Also speaking, Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central Senatorial zone, said the symptoms being shown by APC in Kaduna state is what killed PDP in 2015. “In no way should anybody accept any list concocted in the Government House palace. We won’t bow down to any tyrant. “A list was prepared and sent to Abuja, we are making it clear to whomever that we would not accept it. We are calling on the national secretariat to come and conduct election for those that wished to represent the party in the convention in Abuja.” Hunkuyi, Reps, KDHA members pitch tent with contending camps Th e knell for war in Kaduna APC may have been sounded with all party chieftains and juggernauts including members of the National Assembly taking to the trenches to support the Governor’s caucus or APC Akida/Restoration group. Despite the raging acrimony between Governor el-Rufai and Senator Sani since the inception of this administration, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi has remained quiet and has never contributed to the raging fi asco until now. Apart from Hunkuyi, other members of the National Assembly area also making their position known as three of them; Alhaji Hassan Shekarau, Alhaji Mohammed Usman and Malam Musa Soba all went against the congress. But majority of members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly are believed to be in full support of the Governor against Senator Shehu Sani and the APC Akida faction. Th e Majority Whip of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Yusuf Zailani symbolizes this group.
He told Blueprint that “we can reconcile with anybody, everybody but not Shehu Sani because we suff ered a lot to bring him back to the fold but he refused to respect the party. Th ere is no chance for Shehu Sani in 2019 in APC because he is not a member of the party and if he goes to another party we will follow him there.” Some National Assembly members, who hitherto sat on the fence, are no longer comfortable with the stand aloof stance and When the hoodlums came calling… (Inset: Mohammed Lawal , the injured cameraman soaked in blood). Photo: Tunde Garba have now, thrown their hats into the ring to be counted. Members of Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Samaila Suleiman and Hon. Yusuf Bala Ikara reiterated their support for Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s caucus and are fi rmly in support of the weekend’s congress. According to Hon. Samaila Suleiman, who was former Chairman of Kaduna North local government area, “I’m 100 percent in alignment with the local government congress held on Saturday.
Th ere is no faction in Kaduna APC and the party is doing well. Senator Shehu Sani has the right to his opinion. “It is normal in politics for those who lose to lose bitterly and be disgruntled but APC in Kaduna and Nigeria is making progress. Senator Shehu Sani does not have the interest of APC at heart so I don’t see the success of any eff ort to reconcile but the party has said the door is open for him.” Also speaking, Hon. Yusuf Bala Ikara said, “this is our party, so we have to go by the party’s rules and regulations. We are in support of all our Governor is doing in the state and his eff orts to make Kaduna great again.” Violence dimension and coming LG polls spells doom for APC Th e violence that was unleashed by sponsored thugs on journalists, lawmakers and APC Akida chieftains, who came to address the media during the course of their briefi ng last Sunday have opened another vista in the politics of Kaduna state that threatens the palpable peace in the state and may spell doom if not immediately curbed considering the impending elections into the 23 local government areas. Th e thugs numbering hundreds overpowered the police at the main gate but were met by locked metal doors, only to be led into the courtyard by a police offi cer allegedly under the guise that they are ‘journalists’. Two of them were arrested and handed over to the police. It would be seen what their interrogation would yield and how police investigation into the fracas will go.
