Kaduna APC: Gathering storms over Shehu Sani’s suspension

Is APC Kaduna state chapter a house divided against itself?  The  reverberating implications of the 11-month suspension  slammed on  the Comrade  Senator ,Shehu Sani by his party-the All Progressives Congress (APC), form the basis of this piece by  JOHN NWOKOCHA  and USMAN LAPAI

His background as a human rights activist saw and conferred on him the privilege and opportunity of representing his senatorial ward at the National Assembly. And this Senator Shehu Sani, carried into politics and would not allow any ‘injustice’ go uncriticised. This certainly has put him on a collision course with his party, the All Progressives Congress. And when he  began his early criticism of Governor Nasir El-rufai administration, the governor and his strategists had sleepless nights perfecting plots to cut him to size. An opportunity came on December27, to test the plans to checkmate the senator and as it turned out the governor and his team wasted no time to act.

To any keen watcher of the unfolding scenarios, Sani’s style of criticizing the el-Rufai’s administration is a pill too bitter to swallow and ever since worsened the cold rivalry between both camps. Sani has always been an avowed critic  of the administration. For instance, the senator  at one time condemned the Kaduna carnival organized by the state government, accusing the governor of being insensitive to the plight of local people by organising a music festival when the state and the country face economic and security challenges.

Prior to the suspension, pundits could almost predict that the hammer will fall on the senator sooner than expected should he continue with his style of criticizing the government after being severally cautioned. Specifically, he was advised to stop the tirade in his own interest or be prepared to face the government’s wrath. Besides, Blueprint  reliably gathered  that the party was also not comfortable with the lawmaker’s perceived antagonism of its government, and therefore and was not taken aback when the instrument of “party supremacy”  was brought to bear upon him to possibly serve as  deterrence to any an “erring” member that might be nursing the intention towing Sani’s line of action..
In the view of the observers therefore, more than enough background was set for the December27 action taken against the senator. And in line with party procedure,  the Tudun Wada ward of the party moved against the human rights activist by handing him  an 11-month suspension as a precursor.

In a letter to Sani dated December 27, the APC listed the senator’s offences, which included making statements that allegedly “violate the rules of engagement of the party, factionalizing the party, and engaging in anti-party activities by criticizing the policies of Governor Nasir El-Rufai.”
The letter   was jointly signed by Ahmed Abdulhamid, he secretary of the ward, , the public relations officer, and Aminu Alilan, the ward’s secretary, public relations officer and   an ex-officio member respectively.
The letter reads in part: “Hardly a week passes by that his group will not be on air criticizing and challenging the enduring legacies of Mallam Nasir ElRufai, that his statement on national issues is not in conformity with that of the state government and government of Kaduna state.”

And without allowing further waste of time, the state executive council ratified same. Speaking through its publicity secretary, Alhaji Salisu Tanko-Wusono, the party declares: “Having exhausted all avenues available to caution the senator, the party had no option but to uphold his suspension at the ward level.
“We hereby uphold the suspension of Comrade (Senator) Shehu Sani as a member of the party for the period of 11 months. By this suspension, he is to desist from all party activities until when the suspension is lifted.
“The party calls on all its members to be law abiding as we move forward to fulfil our campaign promises.”
He noted that the party had, over a period of time, watched the activities of Sani with disdain, adding that all entreaties to the federal lawmaker to appear before the party’s leadership to clarify certain issues had failed.
Giving further insight into the suspension, the party accuses  the lawmaker of  unwarranted criticisms of policies and programmes of governments both at the federal and state levels and “insulting and abusing the party leaders through various media platforms.”

He listed other offences of the senator against the party as reckless statement blaming the Nigerian Army over the clash with members of the Shi’ite sect, aimed at inciting the public, various outbursts with a grand design to factionalise the party in the state among several breaches.
Explaining further Tanko- Wusono stated that the party had, for some time, watched with vexation the activities of Sani, adding that all entreaties to the senator to appear before the party’s leadership to clarify certain issues were in vain.
Furthermore, the party maintained that the senator’s comment on the anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Buhari was disdainful. Sani was reported as saying that the anti -corruption crusade of the current administration has political undertone.
Few days after he was reported to have made the statement, elders of the APC in Kaduna State wrote a petition to the state chapter of the party complaining about it, arguing that this  exposes the senator as acting against the interest of the party.

Blueprint learnt that the state executive committee of the party quickly set up a disciplinary committee which invited Sani to appear before it and defend himself against charges of making statements against leaders of the party.
Sani reportedly refused to honour the invitation insisting he does not recognize the officials of the party that set up the committee.
The senator through his legislative aide explained that as far as he was concerned, the APC in Kaduna does not have an exco. He said those inviting him to answer to allegations of anti-party are only stooges of the state governor acting out a script. Less than one week after the suspension letter was served on him, several other issues have played out.
The ward chapter of the party in the letter to the senator dated December 27 said the suspension is for a period of eleven months and that henceforth the senator is disengaged from partaking in or attending party activities in Kaduna state.

But reacting to the development chairman ward 10 APC Kaduna South Local Government area, Architect Ado Mohammed Sani alleged that the suspension of the senator “was carried out by the ward excos after receiving N500,000 bribe from the state government”.
Also reacting to the development barely 24 hours after the suspension was pronounced, another party member, Alhaji Danladi Wada; came out and rubbished the authenticity of the state exco as well as claimed chairmanship of the party.

According to Wada in a statement, he contested for the office of the deputy state chairman and was duly elected and presented with a certificate of return in July 2014 but that rather than allow him function as deputy chairman, one Shuaibu Idris was brought in and ‘imposed on the party as deputy chairman.’
Based on this Wada insisted that since the state chairman of the party has resigned his position and has since assumed position as deputy governor of the state, he should have been made the acting chairman.
“This impunity must stop in APC Kaduna State and allow legitimate elected officials operate their statutory functions as state executives of the party,” he stated.
But Sulaiman Ahmed, the lawmaker’s legislative aide also fired back at the state exco of the party, saying  it was clear that those who suspended his boss are ignorant of the laws of the APC.

He said though it is clear from the letter that the people are out to stop the senator from voicing out his views about what he considers as the anti people policies of the elRufai administration, that it will not stop him from expressing his views when he feels the policies are not for the good of the people of the state.
“They are toeing the line of the state secretariat of the party, so our reaction is that those that wrote this letter are ignorant of the party’ constitution and they are dancing to the tune of the state executive of the party and Governor Nasir ElRufai,” Ahmed insists.

However, about 16 elders of the party in the state who have sympathy for Sani asked the party to withdraw the suspension on the senator.
The elders in a statement said they are concerned over the deteriorating state of the party in Kaduna State and have decided to come out to save the party from further problems.
“The purported suspension of Senator Shehu Sani is one example of the result of the degeneration which is bound to occur as a result of the hijack of the remnants of our party by a clique that believes it owes its loyalty only to the Governor.

“The questionable legality of the suspension and the childish reasons given for it demands that responsible members of the party speak up and demand a stop to the embarrassing melodrama that is unfolding.” The 16 elders who signed the statement included, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Mataimaki John Miyashi,  Ambassador Sule Buba,    Alhaji Kabir Umar,     Alhaji Ibrahim Yaro and others.

Since Malam el-Rufai assumed office in May as governor of the state, the party has moved from one leadership crisis to the other. It began with the appointment of former state chairman of the party Arch. Barnabas Bantex as his deputy. Similarly, the appointment of some members  of the party executive in  the state as commissioners and  other appointive positions without replacement also deepened the crisis as some chieftain of party allege that el-Rufai’s control of party without respect for the principle of separation of power and without recourse to other party hierarchy in the state is undemocratic.

Thus, with all these an observer noted that the party in the last seven months of coming to power has shown that it does not have enough experience to manage power at the state level maintaining that while it gets engrossed in the internal crisis may not focus on fulfilling its campaign promises.
Having disagreed with the suspension slammed on him, the senator is currently contemplating exploring several other options including going to court to seek redress, it was learnt weekend. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: Sani will not stop speaking his mind on issues he believes strongly in even if he runs into problem with his party.

A deep look into the present crises would reveal that the interest is beyond who control what in the party as presently structured rather the reason for the battle is control of the soul of the party ahead  2019. The stakeholders are not taking anything for chance and judging from the way the disputing camps are poised for “attacks” end to the disharmony inflicting the party seems not insight. Only an early intervention will resolve and save it from total disintegration. Several attempts to speak with Idris on the way forward for the party proved abortive.