Crisis is rocking the Niger State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following the inauguration of Aliyu Saidu Galkogo as state caretaker chairman.
The former state chairman, Engr Mohammad Jibrin Imam, who addressed journalists on Sunday in Minna, said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello should be held responsible for the crisis in the party.
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Imam urged the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC National Caretaker Committee to reverse what he called “illegal inauguration of one Aliyu Saidu Galkogo as caretaker chairman of the party” in the state.
He advised the caretaker committee to comply with the December 8, 2020 resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and be sworn in together with other congress elected officials as the caretaker committee in the state.
Imam also disclosed that all channels of communication had been exhausted to challenge “some of the unconstitutional breaches and automatic actions by party enemies”.
“If nothing is done, the party may collapse in the state and if that happens, the governor should be held responsible for killing it,” he said.
Imam, who explained that the problem confronting the party in Niger State was “the unconstitutional breaching of the APC Constitution”, said such action should be resisted in all ramifications.
He vowed to fight “the governor and his cohorts using constitutional means if the crisis persisted”.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Founding Members of APC, Muhammad Abubakar Katcha, said they had waded into the crisis between members of the party and the government of the day.
“We are aware of the happenings, we have identified areas where there are lapses and we want to see how we can resolve the whole problem. We stand with the caretaker committee headed by Engr. Jibrin Imam. Due process must be followed and we must abide by the party’s constitution,” Katcha added.
Reacting to the allegation against the governor, the state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Muhammed Sani Idris, said the governor has no hand in the crisis rocking the party.
Idris said: “The allegation that led to the removal of the former chairman was the embezzlement of the party’s fund and it was the other executives of the party that raised the issue and not the governor. The executive removed him and not the governor.
“As a government, every party member is ours. And we are for anti-corruption campaign and against anybody who is involved in any corruption issue, which was why His Excellency refused to intervene in the case because the governor has always made his stand known on corruption cases.”