Obey Court Order, Step Aside Now

The Rivers State faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Emeka Beke, has urged the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, to temporarily relinquish his position.

Recall that the Kano State High Court had affirmed the suspension of Ganduje and also restrained Ganduje from further parading himself as a member of the party.

Naija News reports that Justice Usman Malam Na’abba granted the order following an ex parte motion filed by Haladu Gwanjo and Laminu Sani through their counsel, Ibrahim Sa’ad.

Speaking on the development during a press conference held in Port Harcourt yesterday, the embattled Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Darlington Nwauju, reiterated that Ganduje should either address his suspension at the ward level or seek legal redress if he wishes to maintain his current role.

Nwauju emphasized that, as per the party’s constitution, only ward executives and members have the authority to suspend or expel individuals.

Therefore, he called on the suspended national Chairman to step aside and allow his Deputy to take charge of the party affairs.

The party chieftain said: “First of all, the suspension or expulsion of party members, as the case may be, is the responsibility of the political party’s foundation organ, the Ward.

“Article 9 of our party’s constitution, 2022 as amended, clearly talks about membership of our party which resides in the Wards.

“And when your membership is questioned, then it goes to any foundation of whatever you are doing for the political party. It questions any other thing that you do for the political party.

“Talking about disciplinary measures or punishments for party members, that is captured under article 21(3) of our party’s constitution, and we have disciplinary procedures which start from the Ward again.

“And so, if the Ward has taken a decision, it requires that Abdullahi Ganduje, Chairman of our party, either goes back to his Ward to placate the people of his Ward to get the decision reviewed, and the suspension can be vacated, or he goes to a court of competent jurisdiction to vacate his suspension.

“Now a High Court has affirmed his suspension, it becomes a more serious issue, it means that he needs to step aside as National Chairman of our party for the Deputy National Chairman (North), to act as chairman, pending the determination of the matter or pending his replacement by the National Executive Committee of our great party.

“Do not also forget the fact that the party has been moving on with the moral burden of having to shove the people of the North Central or deny them their right to a replacement for the position of the National Chairmanship of the APC.

“Because, in a situation where the former occupant of that office, His Excellency Abdullahi Adamu, resigned from that position, coming from the North Central zone of the country, the party’s constitution clearly spells out that someone from his state or his zone should also take over that office.

“And so, as an individual, I wish that the party will explore this very opportunity to right the wrong of reverting and allowing someone from the North Central to occupy the seat of National Chairman of our great party.”

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