From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Jigawa State chapter, under the aegis of APC Stakeholders Forum, Jigawa, have petitioned the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), demanding an outright cancellation of the conducted State Congresses.
The stakeholders who are also the founding members of the party equally accused the state governor, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, of ‘terrorising them’.
Although the first petition addressed to the Chairman of the CECPC, Governor Mai Mala Buni, was dated October 30, 2021, they however sent a reminder obtained by newsmen on Monday in Abuja dated December 23, 2021.
The stakeholders had, in the petition, signed by six leaders of the group, comprising Sani Ibrahim Taura, Barrister Hafizu Abubakar, Bala Idi Kazaure, Mutari Garba Garki and Saifullahi Muhammad Mudasshir, accused governor Badaru Abubakar of “singlehandedly championing the congresses that produced consensus nomination of Aminu Sani Gumel as chairman of APC in Jigawa state, alongside 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 bedevilling the APC in the state.
“The leadership of APC in Jigawa state has been terrorized by Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar Badaru who singlehandedly championed the congresses that produced consensus nomination of Sani Gumel as chairman APC Jigawa State alongside 35 other Executive Council (EXCO) members,” the petition read partly.
The Jigawa APC stakeholders equally noted, in the petition, that due process and provisions of the constitution of APC was strangled on October 16, 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 produce Sani Gumel as chairman alongside 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 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 our grass-root members.
“There was 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 of the governor and was done deiiberately in order 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),” the stakeholders noted in the petition.