The seed of discord was sown during the party’s primaries, when three camps emerged, with allegiance to the aspirants in the governorship primary that produced El-Rufai as the APC flag bearer in last year’s election.
Many had thought that with elections over, and APC having emerged victorious by defeating PDP to clinch the governorship, the party chieftains would close ranks. But that was not to be.
APC in the state has been tossed about by disagreement following perceived marginalisation of those who did not support El-Rufai during the primaries. The governor has been accused of side-lining other groups by appointing only people within his camp into positions.
A source in the party disclosed, “The genesis of the problem is that El-Rufai side-lined those who were not in his camp during the election in his appointments.
Besides, the failure to fill vacant positions created in the party following the appointment of some of its officials into executive positions did not go down well with stakeholders.
At a news conference on December 5 last year, a group, True APC, lamented that the absence of functional and autonomous party structures in the state had created a wide gap between the state government and the teeming party members. Spokesman of the group, Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, alleged, “The desire of the state governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai, is to rule without any apposition or counsel from any quarter.”
“What prompted this media briefing, therefore, is the desire to avert what appears to be the hijack of our great party by the state governor with, apparently, the tacit support of the party’s national headquarters.
“What is even most alarming is the fact that the absence of functional and autonomous party structures in the state has created a long distance between the state government and the teeming party members.”
Abubakar called on the national leadership of APC to set up credible machinery to conduct elections into vacant offices in the state chapter of the party.
He added, “We are pained to join the outcry over the anti-people polices of Governor Nasir el-Rufa’i which have continued to produce misery and pauperisation, unpaid salaries, irrational dismissals and termination of appointments as well as other terror tactics that have placed people under constant stress.
While reacting to the allegations on a live radio programme in Kaduna, the governor dismissed the criticisms, saying the vacant positions in the party have been filled in accordance with the APC constitution.
El-Rufai said, “If there is no chairman, just like our chairman in Kaduna State is now the deputy governor, the deputy chairman is the acting chairman. Therefore, the vacancy had been filled. If the secretary is not available, based on the constitution of APC, the assistant secretary becomes acting secretary.
According to him, “The APC believes in election, those who making these allegations, if you look at them critically, they are people who joined the APC with the orientation of PDP. Everything about them is PDP.
“Therefore, there is vacancy and they want us to pick somebody from the road and make him a leader. We are not like that. That is not what the APC constitution says.
El-Rufai said those making the allegations took the party as a mere platform for contesting elections. “When they contested and they did not win, they moved to one corner and started saying one thing or the other. We called them and told them to join hands with us since the elections are over, but they refused.
The suspension of Senator Shehu Sani has seemed to exacerbate the crisis within APC in Kaduna State. Sani was accused of various allegations, ranging from criticising President Mohammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade and some of El-Rufai’s policies to attempts to factionalise the party. He was given 14 days to respond or appear before the party to defend himself.
But the senator was said to have dismissed the summons as baseless, saying parallel factions of the party have emerged in Kaduna State and has Vowed to sue APC if the letter is not withdrawn.
It was also learnt that El-Rufai, allegedly, turned down Sani’s nominee for appointment as local government sole administrator.
Besides, Sani had consistently criticised the governor’s policies, especially the banning of begging and recovery of school and hospital land, which led to the demolition of some residential and business places.
Sani’s suspension was greeted with condemnation by some prominent elders of the party.
They stated, “We are elders and leaders in Kaduna State All Progressives Congress, in touch with popular concerns and sentiments, and concerned over the deteriorating state of our party in the state.
“We have earlier made public our advice to the national leadership of our party to arrest the drift arising from the situation.
“We have also advised the governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, to revisit his lopsided governance stratagies.
www.thisdaylive.com/articles/kaduna-apc-the-trouble-within/230498/

That's politics

n ur enemies shall fight demsleves before ur very eyes, says d Lord of host. wat is happening in kaduna is already happening at d national level in secret. soon it will explode. nigerians get prepared to be shocked.

El rufai is practicing the 5% template handed to him by Buhari. Zombies will be like they should not complain, they did not support him. So they should take any treatment given to them. In the mentality of these massive zombies, their gods can never do wrong.

Cc Lalasticlala, Mynd44, Seun, Obinoscopy, Mukina 2, OAM4J, farano, tonyebarcanista