Kaduna APC crisis festers as El-Rufai vows to send faction that queried him ‘into retirement’

The crisis currently rocking Kaduna State All Progressives Congress (APC) is getting worse by the day as the state’s Governor Nasir El-Rufai has described the faction that handed him a query as “political traders,” vowing to send them into “retirement”.

A faction of the party known as “The Restoration APC” had on Thursday issued a query and warning letter to Governor Nasir el-Rufai over alleged anti-party and anti-human activities in the state.

The faction’s acting chairman, Danladi Wada, who claimed he is the authentic chairman duly recognised by the national headquarters of the APC in Abuja, and his group also slammed 18 months suspension on the governor’s Political Adviser, Mallam Uba Sani; the state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Audu Kwaru; and the acting state secretary of the party, Alhaji Yahaya Baba-Pate.

In the letter made available to newsmen in Kaduna during a press conference and signed by Wada, the group said that the suspension and query of the governor was with immediate effect.

According to Wada, el-Rufai was expected to answer the query within 48 hours as failure to do so would attract further disciplinary actions.

The letter was copied to the national chairman of the APC, vice-chairman, North-West Zone of the party, INEC headquarters, Abuja; INEC Kaduna, the state Independent Electoral Commission, all the state APC local government chairmen, Kaduna State Command’s Police Commissioner, DSS, Kaduna Command and all media houses in Kaduna State.

However, reacting in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, El-Rufai said, “We are sending political traders into retirement.”

The governor warned that “rascally actions being undertaken by these traders in the hope of getting a lifeline from reconciliation moves would not be rewarded.”

The governor’s statement read in part, “The APC Government of Kaduna State has boldly lived up to its manifesto, commitments and principles to the people. In this work, it continues to enjoy the firm support of the APC State Executive which is united, and committed to the hard work of bringing sustainable change.

“The government had been made aware of the boastful and pompous claims of Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, that he will change the leadership of Kaduna State in 2019 by installing himself as governor.

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“The desperate senator is seeking a lifeline, in the vain belief that ratcheting up rascally actions will bring him attention and relief from the mooted national reconciliation efforts. Senator Hunkuyi has further illegally created a faction, headquartered in his house, as a bargaining chip.

“This senator has failed to understand that you cannot create party executives at your whim. It is the party’s prerogative to consider appropriate responses to this breach of discipline. But as a government, we view these actions as the needless drama of political traders.”

Kaduna APC since coming to power in 2015 has had tales of one internal trouble or the other resulting to the party currently having three splinter groups which include, the “Restoration APC” led by Alhaji Tijjani Ramallan and Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi; the “APC Akida” led by Senator Shehu Sani and the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and the governor’s faction.

Wada, who now act as the acting chairman of the Restoration APC, was the deputy chairman of the party in the state before the 2015 general elections.

 

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