• Masterminds of the suspension were impostors, party stakeholders insist
• There will be consequences when the dust settles, says APC spokesman
• It’s all about control of Kano politics, but we’ll triumph – Ganduje
The purported suspension from office of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) threw up many questions begging for answers. Is the APC walking through another treacherous path that saw the exit of Adams Oshiomhole from that exalted seat?
Observers also wondered if Ganduje would survive the plot in the event it enjoys the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Senator Hope Uzodinma-led Progressives Governors Forum (PGF).
The news of the suspension came on the heels of the resolve by the Kano State government to probe Ganduje over the level of his involvement in alleged bribery, diversion and misappropriation of funds to the tune of $413,000 and N1.38 billion. Amid the denial and attempt at debating the constitutionality of the controversial action, the entire Kano State chapter of the party led by Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas moved in droves to the national secretariat of the party in Abuja to dissociate themselves from the action.
Indeed, the Legal Adviser of Ganduje Ward, Haladu Gwanjo, who accused the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) of masterminding the act, claimed he was in his farm attending to his herds when he was informed of the mention of his name in the media as one of the signatories that endorsed the suspension of Ganduje from the party. The State Exco members, who showed solidarity with Ganduje, also went on to perfect the papers seeking to reverse the suspension order granted by Justice Usman Na’Abba of the Kano State High Court.
Ganduje, on his part, told whoever cared to know that the Governor Abba Yusuf-led NNPP masterminded the botched attempt to relieve him of his job.
He said: “The government in Kano State is behind this drama. This is one kind of drama we call Africa magic, which is not leading democracy anywhere. This is a new negative development whereby members belonging to a different political party, not even elected Exco members, are posing themselves as APC members and taking resolutions that could affect the nation. This is not acceptable.”
Ganduje also minced no words in pointing accusing fingers at his estranged ally and presidential candidate of the NNPP in the 2023 polls, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for his ordeal, adding that the development is tied to the battle for the control of the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wondering why the opposition NNPP would go out of its way to gather imposters in a desperate bid to score political goals, he vowed to do all within his powers to secure Kano State for President Tinubu.
“In fact, what is happening is that it is an incursion into our political party by the NNPP government of Kano to destroy our party. They are so concerned that in their first year in office, they have seen their failures right from the destruction of the economy of the state to increased political violence and also destruction of political morality in Kano State.
“We are battle-ready to take over their government. They are concerned that Kano produces the highest votes. They are so concerned that we will repeat the same feat for President Bola Tinubu again. We will ensure that in 2027, there is no vacancy for any presidential candidate from Kano in Aso Rock.
“They are out to create confusion in our party so that we will not have the courage to take over our government in Kano State. They want to ensure Tinubu does not have the intimidating votes we used to have from Kano State.
“We will tell them their intentions will fail; that it is impossible, that it is a falsehood. I am assuring the President that our party in Kano is solid; it is battle-ready in order to keep the votes for the president very high, even the highest in Nigeria,” he added.
Ganduje, who is the immediate past governor of Kano State, bared his mind after the 36 states and FCT chairmen of the party threw their weights behind his continued stay in office.
The forum, led by Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, during a solidarity visit to Ganduje at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, described those behind the purported suspension of the national chairman as imposters that do not mean well for the party.
“We are here on a mission and to let you know that you are the captain of the ship. With me here are also your foot soldiers in the 36 states and the FCT. We are here to show our solidarity and sincere commitment; to appreciate what the NWC has been doing for the party. We will give you our total support. You have started a journey on restructuring and expanding our party. We are pretty sure you are on course. From what we are seeing, those behind the plot against you are not even members of our party. So, they cannot be allowed to derail our party,” he said.
The chairman of the Bayelsa State chapter of the party, Mr. Dennis Otiotio, told Ganduje to rest assured that he would not be affected by what he termed “the judicial abracadabra” that led to the removal of Oshiomhole from office.
“What they intended to do was a coup; thank God the coup has failed. We are solidly behind you anytime, any day,” he added.
Although Ganduje appeared unperturbed amid the suspension drama, he further heaved a sigh of relief after Justice Na’Abba reversed his earlier order suspending him as a member of the APC.
Also, a vote of confidence passed by APC’s National Working Committee (NWC), coupled with an order of the Federal High Court in Kano restraining APC in Ganduje Ward of Dawakin Tofa Local Council from taking further action against Ganduje, pending the determination of a suit filed before the court, had allayed fears that Ganduje might be shown the Oshiomhole treatment.
The judge, A. M. Liman, had in suit no. FHC/KN/CS/122/2024, filed by Ganduje regarding the enforcement of his fundamental rights to fair hearing, directed that the ward’s legal adviser, Halidu Maigwanjo, and 13 other respondents be restrained from enforcing the suspension issued by the ward executives against Ganduje, pending the determination of the suit.
The APC also dragged the matter to the National Judicial Council (NJC) and Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, calling on them to sanction Justice Usman Na’Abba of the Kano State High Court for meddling in the affairs of the party in breach of extant provisions of the law.
Meanwhile, the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, said Ganduje had no cause to worry as the status quo would be maintained in view of the intervention of the Federal High Court in Kano.
Referring to the petition to the NJC, CJN, the Director General of Department of State Security (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) filed by the party against those who masterminded the purported suspension of Ganduje, he contended that the order by the Kano State High Court was of no effect.
The APC scribe was apparently responding to calls by protesters under the aegis of the Guardian of Democracy and Development Initiative (GoDDI), who called on Ganduje to obey the order of the Kano State High court suspending him as a member of the party.
Although the Presidency has maintained a studied silence on the unfolding drama, the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Felix Morka, faulted the widely held notion that Ganduje and Oshiomhole were on familiar terrain.
Morka argued that unlike what transpired when Oshiomhole held sway as national chairman of the party, those instigating Ganduje’s suspension are not bonafide members of the party.
“No, it is not familiar if you understand the facts of what happened to Oshiomhole. They are incomparable. They are two different things altogether. In the case of Oshiomhole when he was the national chairman, the individuals who were involved in that effort to suspend him and took all the actions within the party were officials of the party,” he said in response to a question on Arise TV.
He added: “I know no one could have come out at that time to say these individuals are not legitimate officers of the party. So, whether they were persuaded to do that or compromised, whether they were acting on their free will and volition is a different conversation. And I am not going to speak to that. But they were members of the party.
“In this particular case in Kano, we are seeing people that we know are not officials of the party.
“The man who purportedly read the suspension was physically at the party secretary on Wednesday to say he did not participate or authorise any lawyer to go to court to bring this action against the national chairman. So, when the person that is fully disclosed by identity is the same individual saying he did not, then who the heck was the individual who went to court? That is the question.
“The difference here is that we have pure imposters announcing the suspension of our national chairman and they had gone to court to attempt to affirm that same illegal and criminal act. So, I just want to make sure that that is clear; that these individuals are not authorised and not acting for or on behalf of the ward. They need to stop because when the dust settles there will be consequences for this sort of behaviour.”
Efforts by Ganduje to make peace with Kwankwaso after the Supreme Court pronouncement that upheld Governor Yusuf’s victory in January this year, allegedly at the behest of President Tinubu, failed to yield results. And the attempt to unseat Ganduje as APC national chairman from his Kano backyard spoke volume of the failure by the contending political groups to agree on the modalities to fuse together under one umbrella political platform.
Recall that Ganduje, who is a die-in-the-wool supporter of President Tinubu, was in Kano for about a week to woo Governor Yusuf and members of the NNPP top echelon in the state to join the APC.
Ganduje’s ordeal promises to linger especially against the backdrop of the charges preferred against him by the state government. His probe is seen in party circles as a ploy to arm-twist him and create the enabling environment for Kwankwaso to take over the entire political landscape in Kano State.
Ganduje’s aide on media and publicity, Mr. Edwin Olofu, denied knowledge of a deal brokered by the Presidency to reconcile the warring groups, explaining that the ongoing actions against his principal was a political witch-hunt that would be inconsequential.
He said: “Yes, you cannot rule out the fact that it has to do with tussle for the control of the state. This is almost a year under the NNPP administration; there is no tangible project on ground that the Governor can beat his chest and say that this is what he has done .
“We challenge them to come up with anything like that. So, knowing full well that they have wasted time and you know that by next year, we will be talking about elections and they won’t have any real time again to perform, they know the APC would send them packing. So, they are jittery. For them now, it is an opportunity to clip his (Ganduje) wing.”
Governor Yusuf, who survived attempts by the governorship candidate of APC in the last general election, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, to unseat him at the Supreme Court, penultimate week, set up two judicial panels to probe cases of political violence and misappropriation of public assets when Ganduje governed the state between 2015 and 2023. The governor faulted the notion held in certain quarters that the probe was politically motivated or directed at Ganduje.
“Our eight months in office has remarkably outweighed Ganduje’s eight wasted years of political caricature and maladministration by all standards,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ranks of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State are already gloating over the unfolding development, which they expect would lead to the collapse of NNPP and implosion of APC in the state .
A PDP chieftain, Comrade Aminu Saidu, believes the alleged move by President Tinubu to accommodate the warring groups in his government triggered the attempt to unseat Ganduje as APC national chairman.
Saidu, who has worked closely with both Ganduje and Kwankwaso over the years, believes that PDP or any of the opposition parties would emerge the ultimate beneficiaries of the unfolding development.
“Look, when the two elephants are fighting politically, other parties would develop. PDP is there waiting and we are making progress. All those that have issues within NNPP and APC would come back to PDP. The truth is that Kwankwaso would not allow the party to operate and those holding the leadership of APC now under Ganduje would not equally surrender it to Kwankwaso because they know they will be finished.
“The ultimate end is that NNPP and APC will disintegrate in an attempt to implement what they have so far agreed upon for Kabiru Yusuf to continue as Governor of Kano State. If the Presidency betrays Ganduje, they don’t know the consequences that would follow,” he said.
The latest round of face-off between Ganduje and Kwankwaso holds the prospect of not only pitching their loyalists in both Kano and Abuja against one another but could also negatively impact the wellbeing of the people.
An elder statesman in the state, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Our people are wallowing in poverty. There is so much hardship in Kano. Of what use is fighting Ganduje, who is close to President Tinubu and can use his office to attract various intervention projects to our state? Look at the caliber of persons we have in this government and the position they are occupying today. They are all APC members. When the NNPP makes Kano hot, we will all be affected.”
THEGUARDIAN
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