Onoja Audu Jos
The North Central All North Central Progressives Congress (APC) Forum, has said it will appeal Monday’s ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed their suit seeking the removal of Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman of the party.
It would be recalled ecalled that the North Central APC Forum had dragged Ganduje, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court praying for the nullification of appointment of Ganduje as the National Chairman of the party.
The party had said the appointment is a violations of the party’s constitution 2022 as amended as well as the zoning arrangement for the party for the Chairmanship position of the party from North Central and not the North West region where Ganduje came from.
Also, the forum claimed that the appointment of Ganduje breached Article 13 of the APC Constitution because it was not done through a democratic process enshrined in the party’s law.
In his Monday’s judgement of the suit, Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the suit on some grounds.
According to Justice Ekwo, the APC North Central Forum is not a juristic person and not registered in law, and that it has no legal power to file the suit.
Also, Ekwo said that the plaintiff failed to explore the internal mechanism for peaceful resolution of issues before rushing to the court, adding that the appointment of officers for APC by its National Executive Committee is an internal affair of the party which no court can dabble into.
Reacting to the judgement, the Chairman of the North Central APC Forum, Saleh Zazzaga, has said they will appeal the judgement, stressing that their lawyer has already been instructed to file the appeal.
The Chairman said they were not surprised with the court judgment because they know the person of Ganduje and what he can do, as well as his confidence of always having his way with the judiciary, which is suggesting some kind of relationship with the judiciary.
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He told newsmen in Jos the Plateau State capital that one vital thing they are seeking from the court is the interpretation of the party 2022 constitution as amended and the zoning arrangement, but that it wasn’t done.
And therefore, he said, they will pursue their cause to a legal and logical conclusion, while they will continue their strategy with the party chieftains and stakeholders from the region for the rights, privileges and benefit of the region within the APC structure and the APC administration in general.
He pointed out that in this battle, few individuals from the region have been betraying them for their selfish interest rather than that of the entire region, and that they know all those persons and will decisively address their betrayals accordingly and will tell the people of the region who they are so that they will clearly know who the enemies within are.
“When President Bola Tinubu reportedly tipped Ganduje for ambassadorial appointment in any African country, we know how Ganduje vehemently rejected the idea, and he was boasting of winning his court cases. That implies that he can have his way with the judiciary, otherwise why will he boast of winning such a case, and that of others? But that won’t deter us.
“Just look at the corruption trial Ganduje is facing in Kano alongside his wife, son and other accomplices to the tune of over N50 billion. Look at our case against him and that of his APC ward in Kano.
“The earlier the president and the party know that Ganduje’s remaining in office is retrogression for the party and will incur legal liabilities for the party, the better.
“Besides, we believe that party will not want to trade the whole of North Central region for Ganduje. So the needful should be done fast. That is all I can say to that,” he said.
Zazzaga thanked their members and supporters across the region, saying that they should remain dedicated, hopeful and prayerful as they keep pursuing the the developmental cause of the region as well as the needed democratic dividends.
He commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for providing the needed governance and quality leadership, as well as his economic reforms which will be for the ultimate betterment of the country at the long run.
Again, he thanked the people of Edo State for voting in the APC over the weekend in the governorship election, stressing that it was as the result of the confidence the people have in President Tinubu who is the leader of the party.
