The declaration made by the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdulkarim Kana, emphasizes that only the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, possesses the jurisdiction to suspend its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Kana, speaking during a segment on Politics Today aired by Channels Television, addressed the recent suspension of Ganduje by various factional executive committees within his ward.
The two conflicting factions within the ward had taken action to suspend Ganduje’s membership, citing alleged corruption and other transgressions during his governance in Kano State.
Nevertheless, the State Working Committee of the APC in Kano promptly invalidated the suspension and initiated disciplinary measures against the ward executives involved.
In a related development, a Federal High Court in Kano issued an interim order halting the enforcement of the suspension until the case undergoes a full judicial process.
An initial ruling by a Kano State High Court supporting Ganduje’s suspension as the APC National Chairman was subsequently overturned.
During his statements on Monday, Kana stressed that only the NWC holds the prerogative to suspend any member as mandated by the party’s constitution, requiring thorough adherence to the specified procedures before such actions are taken.
He emphasized, “The NWC is the only authorized body within the APC to carry out any suspension pending an investigation. All due processes must be adhered to before disciplinary actions can be implemented.”
Referring to the individuals who sanctioned Ganduje’s suspension as “unauthorized parties,” Kana emphasized that they do not hold official membership within the party.
Describing the incident, he stated, “It is a grave allegation that reflects serious misconduct by a party organ. Our investigations revealed that those alleged to have instigated the Chairman’s suspension were neither bona fide members of the party’s board committee in Ganduje’s ward nor associated with any ward executive bodies as recognized by our records.”
“In our endeavors to substantiate these claims, we summoned the state working committee and the ward executives to Abuja for interrogation. To authenticate their identities, I insisted on reviewing their official documents, including identity and voter’s cards. Upon examination, we discovered that those individuals featured in media reports claiming affiliation were imposters, prompting the involvement of security agencies to probe this matter further,” he added.