The State Working Committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kano has described the purported suspension of former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the party, as illegal, null and void.
The Ganduje Ward of APC in Dawakin-Tofa Local Government of Kano State had on Monday suspended Ganduje, citing corruption and other vices.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that nine executive members of the ward announced the suspension at a news conference in Kano.
Malam Haladu Gwanjo, the Legal Adviser, who spoke on their behalf, accused the former governor of “gross misconduct and misappropriation of public funds during his administration in Kano.
“We resolved to pass a vote of no confidence on the National Chairman of the party due to his inability to clear his name from allegations of corruption, particularly the ‘dollar video’ that went viral.
“The APC leaders in Ganduje ward are worried that the party is being subjected to unnecessary embarrassment from the rival New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) over unsubstantiated allegations of corruption levelled against Ganduje’s administration.
“Ganduje ward leaders deem it fit to suspend the national chairman to enable him concentrate on the litigation and other hanging issues so that he could appropriately clear his image and that of his family.
“President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the ongoing fight against corruption has made it necessary for Ganduje to deal with the seeming baggage of corruption hanging on his neck as it is already denting the reputation of the APC-led federal government.
“We, the leaders of the APC in Ganduje ward, after thorough deliberations, decided to suspend the chairman to give him time to clear his name.
“Since Ganduje has been summoned to court to answer for these accusations, we are being proactive as it could potentially hurt the reputation of our political party,” he said in announcing the suspension of the APC national chairman.
But the Kano State chapter of the APC party, in a swift reaction, imposed drastic measures against party leaders who announced the suspension of Ganduje.
In a quick counter move, the Dawakin-Tofa Local Government chapter of the party announced the “immediate sack” of those behind it.
Its Chairman, Inusa Dawanau, told newsmen that those behind the suspension of the national chairman were caught in anti-party activities with records of their meetings with opposition exposed.
The state chapter of the party has also adopted the suspension of the Ganduje ward APC leaders behind the suspension of the party’s national chairman.
“We have sanctioned them for six months; a special investigation panel has been set up to verify the several allegations against them,” the state chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, told newsmen in Kano.
He said that the State Working Committee had adopted the decisions of the Dawakin-Tofa Local Government APC leaders.
“We have already ordered an investigation into the anti-party allegations levelled against them.
“We have evidence of meetings between state government officials and those that suspended the national chairman, so we shall dig into the roots of the matter,” he said.
Abbas declared the suspension as “invalid”.
“It stands null and void. It cannot stand,” he declared. (NAN)
