Some stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the North Central zone have written to the National Working Committee (NWC), demanding the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The protest letter titled, “Vote of no confidence and request for the removal of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from office as national chairman of the APC”, was signed by Mohammed Mahmud Saba and obtained by our correspondent on Thursday.
Daily Trust reports that since the purported suspension of Ganduje erupted, the North Central members of the APC renewed their agitations to “retain” the slot.
The letter was copied President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
Mahmud Saba said unlike the APC state chairmen who passed a vote of confidence on Ganduje on Tuesday, people of the North Central have passed a vote of no confidence on the national chairman and equally demanded his immediate resignation.
Saba argued that the emergence of Ganduje as national chairman was done against the spirit and soul of the APC constitution, because it “betrayed” the North Central which was supposed to retain the office of national chairman following Senator Abdullahi Adamu’s “ouster.”
Th letter reads in part, “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 the APC in 2022.
“Various sections of our constitution have clearly established the procedure of replacing an Executive member at all levels of the party in an event of death, resignation, incapacitation or expulsion from party by any executive member.
“This singular act has impacted negatively on us as a people in the North Central, we feel betrayed and spited because we gave His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR the third highest votes after North West and South West in the country which put us on better position to enjoy the fruit of our labour.
“The North West where Ganduje comes from has the Speaker and Deputy Senate President zoned to them, the North East have Vice president and Deputy National chairman North, but the North Central which has only the SGF appointed from the zone should naturally produce the National Chairman of the party.
“We therefor make the following demands;
That Dr. Umar Ganduje resigns immediately and stop parading himself as the National Chairman of our great party. That 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.”