• Hands off Ganduje’s case, APC chieftain, others tell President
Former Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, has called on President Bola Tinubu to wade into the face-off between former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is unhappy with the Governor Abba Yusuf-led New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) administration of Kano for allegedly masterminding “the political persecution” of Ganduje.
However, an APC chieftain in Kano, Muaz Dawakin, has advised Tinubu to withdraw his support of Ganduje, saying his continuous stay as the party’s national chairman will adversely affect the masses- support of his administration.
Lukman, in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, argued that on no account should APC leaders limit the engagement of issues surrounding all the political challenges facing the party to the bribery allegation against Ganduje.
According to Lukman, Tinubu and APC leaders must consider the face-off between supporters of the two political gladiators as an opportunity to renew the APC in Kano, North-West and the entire North.
He contended that given present political realities, Kwankwaso and his NNPP have a stronger support base in Kano that could not be ignored by the APC. He called on APC leaders to go into another round of negotiation for a political alliance or merger with Kwankwaso and NNPP.
On the corruption allegation against Ganduje, Lukman, who was the immediate Vice Chairman (North West) of APC, said the situation presented an opportunity for Tinubu to demonstrate his progressive and political dexterity.
“Tinubu and APC must take full advantage of the present reality to renegotiate the support base of the APC. Renegotiating the support base of the APC should also be about re-igniting the progressive credentials of the party.
“It is disturbing that unless this kind of opportunity is utilised to the fullest, based on which new actors such as Kwankwaso, with a strong commitment to democracy based on principles, are recruited into our party, the downward slide and retrogression towards conservatism and lawless management of the APC will continue,” he said.
APC leaders, he added, must be reminded that one of the promises in 2015, based on which Nigerians gave it the mandate to rule the country for the last nine years, was the commitment to fight corruption.
“If there is any instance requiring us, as a party, to renew our commitment to fighting corruption, this is it,” he asserted. “We must appeal to Tinubu and APC leaders not to consent to any action other than supporting Ganduje to take advantage of the present reality to clear his name.”
APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, described the purported suspension of Ganduje by the Executive Committee of Ganduje Ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Council of Kano State as a criminal act, and of no effect whatsoever.
It noted: “The purported suspension was the devious act of a group of impersonators of ward officials out to cause mischief and create confusion in the otherwise peaceful Ganduje Ward chapter of our party.
“The perpetrators of this criminal act are not card-carrying members of APC in the ward, but individuals affiliated with senior officials and representatives of the NNPP.”
Applauding the Executive Committee of Ganduje Ward for denouncing the action, APC reaffirmed Ganduje as a bona fide member of the party in the ward, and in good standing.
The party also filed a petition with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) requesting an expedited investigation of this matter and that the perpetrators and their sponsors be brought to justice.
TOFA, a kinsman and former political ally of Ganduje, said the former governor has lost political credibility and should be allowed to resign for new blood to be injected into the APC leadership at the national level.
The APC chieftain, who served as Commissioner for Works during Ganduje’s administration, said even before the suspension of Ganduje by the leadership of Ganduje Ward, the former governor’s time to leave the stage was long overdue.
Also, former APC leader in Sabon Gari, Kingsley Godwin, hailed the leadership of APC in Ganduje Ward for the courage to suspend the former governor from the party, following corruption charges against him at the court.
Godwin who revealed that his exit from APC to Labour Party (LP) was as a result of injustice meted to some members, “by Ganduje and his boys during his time as governor of Kano,” said in civilised societies, people like Ganduje should not be allowed to hold public office after his “dirty” political escapades as governor.
NwokeAgulu
