The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked a factional leader of the party in Zamfara State, Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa, to submit to party supremacy and internal mechanism of resolving a crisis or face sanctions.
Marafa had at a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, criticised the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee over the handling of APC’s affairs and threatened to institute legal action to remove Buni as Chairman of the Committee.
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In a swift reaction, the Director-General, Press and Media Affairs to Governor Buni,
Mamman Mohammed, said: “As a responsible politician, he should just approach the court and stop being the complainant and juror” among others.
But a statement on Monday in Abuja by the spokesman of the Marafa faction, Hon Bello Bakyasuwa Maradun, said: “We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by the outburst of Mr Mai-Mala’s spokesman and lose sight of the real issues raised by distinguished Senator Marafa.
“Thanks to the interventions of Senator Marafa through a legal process that went to the Supreme Court from the case of irregular primaries in 2019, Nigeria’s political space was awakened from the political impunity that happens in party primaries with the promise of changing ways of doing things including the much-celebrated direct election.
“While assuring the DG of Senator Marafa’s willingness, readiness and determination to challenge the legality and all the actions taken by the illegal contraption called CCECN in court, we want Mai-Mala and his media warriors to address the pertinent issues raised against his/their principal.
“We believe strongly that the malpractices we see under his questionable leadership of APC have direct links with his accumulation of unjustifiable wealth, lack of formal education of any degree and weak political experience.
“We also trust that these should be amplified because they are incongruent with the ideals of APC and President Muhammadu Buharis administration,” he said.
But Secretary of the APC National Caretaker Committee, Sen John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement on Monday, urged Sen. Marafa not to reduce the political issues to a contest of personalities but submit to party supremacy and internal dispute resolution structures.
“Anything outside this amounts to insubordination and indiscipline and the APC constitution is very clear on this.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the APC received intelligence reports bordering on the security of the Zamfara State APC Ward Congress Committee, hence the need to temporarily suspend their activities.
“That necessitated the letter of 5th November 2021 to the Chairman of the Committee, Alh. Ibrahim Kabir Masari, only.
“After, evaluation and consultations, the Committee, in a letter dated 10th November 2021 was okayed to proceed with the conduct of the Zamfara State Ward Congresses on Saturday 13th, November 2021, which Sen. Marafa participated,” the party said.
