Some founding members of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa state, under the aegis of APC Stakeholders Forum, Jigawa, have petitioned the national leadership of the ruling APC under the leadership of Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), alleging that the state governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar ‘terrorizing them’.
The APC members also demanded immediate cancellation of the state congress.
Although the first petition addressed to the Chairman of the CECPC, Governor Mai Mala Buni, dated 30th of October 2021, the remainder obtained by newsmen Monday in Abuja is dated 23rd December, 2021.
In the said petition, signed by six leaders of the group, which include Alhaji Sani Ibrahim Taura, Barrister Hafizu Abubakar, Alhaji Bala Idi Kazaure, Mutari Garba Garki, and Saifullahi Muhammad Mudasshir, accused governor Badaru Abubakar of “singlehandedly championed the congresses that produced consensus nomination of Alhaji Aminu Sani Gumel as chairman of APC in Jigawa state, alongside thirty-five (35) other executive council members.
“Reference to the petition written dated 30th of October, 2021 and submitted to your good office; as stakeholders that participated actively in building APC in Jigawa state, we write to remind and bring the attention of your good office, the need to do justice to the crises bedeviling the APC in the state.
“The leadership of APC in Jigawa state has been terrorized by Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar Badaru who single-handedly championed the congresses that produced consensus nomination of Alhaji Aminu Sani Gumel as chairman APC Jigawa State alongside Thirty-five (35) other Executive Council (EXCO) members.”
The Jigawa APC stakeholders said in the petition that due process and provisions of the constitution of APC was strangled on 16th October 2021 in the name of party-state congress Jigawa state chapter.
“We, the undersigned and card-carrying members of APC been critical stakeholders of the party in Jigawa state observed with concern how due process and provisions of the constitution of our great party was strangled on 16th October 2021 in the name of party-state congress Jigawa state chapter.
“We are aggrieved with what was termed as state congress that produces Alhaji Muhammadu Sani Gumel as chairman alongside thirty-five (35) other Executive Council (EXCO) members in the state on the following grounds:
“There was no genuine consensus that produced the current leadership of the state Executive council because not all stakeholders were carried along or contacted, no nomination forms were offered for sales to any member apart from those installed for consideration by Governor of the state Alhaji Muhammed Badaru Abubakar
“There was no balanced consideration of interest groups that make up the party architecture in the state in sharing the leadership positions. In particular interest groups from defined ANPP, CPC, and AC were not considered, the Governor hand-picked the EXCO and handed over the party affairs in the state to a crop of people who are not known as our grass-root members.
“There was a deliberate denial of access to the venue of the congress, the petitioners and other members eligible to contest or attend the meeting were disallowed entrance to the venue by the order from the governor and was done deliberately to deny aggrieved members from expressing their positions in a voice vote during the Congress as provided by article 20 of the APC Constitution 2014 (as amended).”
