Protesters insist on party chairman’s resignation

Immediate past National Vice Chairman (North West) of All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has alleged usurpation of the National Executive Committee (NEC)’s powers by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led National Working Committee (NWC).

  
This was as scores of protesters stormed the national secretariat of APC calling on Ganduje to step down as chairman. Lukman, in a statement, yesterday, argued that the inability of NEC and other critical organs of the party to perform their duties impacted negatively on the performance of the party.
  
According to him, it is unfortunate that the party is yet to have a national budget for the consideration and approval of NEC as provided by Article 13.3A (xiv) of the APC constitution, and the matter is left unattended.
  
The former director general of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said the change of leadership at the national level heightened the internal leadership crisis in many states, which affected the management of primaries to produce candidates for elections. 
  
He called on APC leaders, especially President Bola Tinubu, to commit themselves to reforming the party, such that governments produced by the party could have a coordinated strategy for responding to governance challenges.
LED by Mohammed Saba, the protesters adduced the recent suspension of Ganduje and the bribery allegation against him by the Kano State government as reasons for their actions.
  
The call came against the backdrop of the vote of confidence in Ganduje by the Forum of APC State Chairmen at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Brandishing banners with inscriptions such as, “Ganduje must resign” and “Return the APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters called on Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to consider returning the chairmanship seat of the party to the region.  
  
The protesters under the aegis of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders argued that the continued stay of Ganduje in office was a clear violation of the zoning process in the party.
  
They maintained that the people of North Central felt betrayed when the position was hijacked from them following the exit of Abdullahi Adamu, despite giving Tinubu the third highest votes after North West and South West at the 2023 presidential election. 
  
They noted: “We, the North Central APC Concerned Stakeholders, have resolved to unanimously agitate for our right and reclaim our mandate, which was handed unto us by the national convention of our great party in 2022.”