North Central APC Stakeholders Demand Ganduje’s Resignation

From Romanus Ugwu

Hundreds of protesters from the All Progressives Congress (APC) North Central stakeholders stormed the national secretariat of the ruling party on Thursday to demand the resignation of the National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

The protesters based their demands on Ganduje’s recent purported suspension by a faction of his ward executives in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano. The APC claims the suspension was carried out by impostors allegedly sponsored by the state government. They called attention to the bribery allegation levelled against Ganduje by the Kano State government.

Chanting solidarity songs and displaying posters with slogans like “Ganduje must resign” and “Return the APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to consider returning the party leadership to their region.

The protesters, under the auspices of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders, argued that Ganduje’s continued stay in office violates the party’s zoning process. They claimed to have passed a vote of no confidence on Ganduje and demanded his immediate resignation.

They further expressed feeling betrayed when the position of APC national chairman was taken from the North Central after Abdullahi Adamu’s exit, despite giving Tinubu the third highest votes after the North West and South West in the 2023 presidential election.

Mohammed Mahmud Saba, leader of the demonstrators, stated:

“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.

“Various sections of our constitution have established the procedure of replacing an executive member at all levels of the party in the event of death, resignation, incapacitation or expulsion from the party by any executive member.

“It is a fact that the emergence of Umar Ganduje as national chairman was done against the spirit and soul of the APC which is the constitution of our great party. This singular act has impacted negatively on us as a people in the North Central. We feel betrayed and spited because we gave President Tinubu, the third highest votes after North West and South West in the country which put us in a better position to enjoy the fruit of our labour.

“We, therefore, demand that Ganduje resign immediately and stop parading himself as the National Chairman of our great party; the zoning arrangements made by the National Convention in 2022, which zoned the office of the national chairman to the North Central be respected by the NEC and all other organs of the party and that all governors elected on the platform of the APC in the North Central should wake up from their slumber and mobilize their members against this impunity until Ganduje resigns as the national chairman,” he said.