Kaduna APC crisis deepens as 15 chieftains resign over lack of ‘internal democracy’

Crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State took a deeper turn, Thursday, with the resignation from the party of 15 top members over allegations of marginalisation said to be from unresolved internal matters.

The APC chieftains, who accused the party of lacking internal democracy in the state chapter, included the Legal Adviser in Jema’a Local Government Area, Hon. Ibrahim Samuel.

According to them, the situation is responsible for the emergence of two governorship candidates of the party in Sen. Uba Sani and Sha’aban, which is presently in court.

It would be recalled that before his emergence as National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdulahi had headed a special committee on resolution of conflicts arising from the and ward controversial state congresses of the APC, which had produced parallel executive committees all competing for recognition.

That National Reconciliation Committee set up to tackle the issues that had trailed the APC in numerous states since the ward and sate congresses which saw a plethora of factions conduct parallel congresses came to a head with the confusion now beclouding the National Convention.

The ward and state congresses were supposed to produce authentic delegates for the March 2021 National Convention of the party.

The APC Reconciliation Committee, headed by Adamu, in the light of the confusion, however, specifically requested additional time to address petitions from aggrieved members before the scheduling of the party’s national convention, earlier fixed for February, 2021, and later shifted by one month, to Mrarch.

That Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led reconciliation committee, which was inaugurated on September 15, 2021, requested additional time in order to address pending petitions from aggrieved members.

According to the APC’s schedule, the Adamu-led committee was supposed to submit its report well before the national convention of March 2021. However, it never concluded its work.

As at February, 2021, Senator Adamu, chairman of the Reconciliation Committee, said the body was still collecting petitions and wanted another week to deal with them.

”We had received 47 petitions in all, and you may be interested to know that individuals were waiting for us to submit their petitions even this morning.

“Our interim report has been filed. There is more work to be done, as we stated when presenting the study. It’s still a work in progress when it comes to reconciliation. And while we cannot claim to have taken care of everything that has come before us, by the time the final report is done, we will be able to provide you with the actual report.

”We are still receiving petitions as of today. People are still flocking in to visit us, and in all fairness, we can’t stop them. It’s still a work in progress when it comes to reconciliation. Nobody will tell you that political confrontations are sometimes founded on ego, and other times on perception; nobody of us has control over this. Nobody has done so. So, while we can’t prohibit them from delivering their petitions, we’ll do everything we can to promote the first ones to the party.”

Adamu was then elected National Chairman of the APC at the March 2021 National Convention, even with the reconciliation work not fully completed.

Following their latest defections from the party made official, Thursday, Hon. Samuel, in a letter addressed to his Ward Chairman, explained that ‘his decision to dump the party was based on the internal crises of the party, lack of internal democracy and total disrespect.’

Other defectors, in a press statement signed by Hon. Barnabas Samuel and Hon. Ibrahim Samuel (Oganto) and issued to newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday, lamented that the names that emanated during the last party congress were entirely different from the ones brought to be used for the primaries.

“Another reason was that the State House of Assembly party primaries has come and gone but certainly not without some avoidable challenges. It is only logical and ideal that after every contest all the aspirants that lost in the contest are brought together for genuine reconciliation with the flag bearer.

“Last month, instead of calling for reconciliation, the party stakeholders of our local government met at Kaduna under the guise of reconciliation, but the meeting turned out issuing warnings and threats to those that lost in the last primaries should any of them be caught in any anti-party activity in the forthcoming election.”

Other defectors from the party, Thursday, July 21, 2022 included: Mallam Audu Bode, Alh. Shuabu Ahmed, Hon. Habila Latu, Boniface Ubandoma, Mr. Yakubu Simon, Jashua Peter, Camio Bitrus, Patrick Paul, Mr. Samuel Wyah, Zaka Makoshi, Jonathan Fedelix, Barnabas Samuel, Shua’ibu Yusuf, Alexander Danladi (Lulu), Samuel Ibrahim.