The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has vowed not to allow APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje to destroy the party.
Speaking on Saturday, the Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga said the group will pursue all available means to fight for the return of the national chairmanship position of the APC to the North-Central.
Zazzaga pointed out that the Forum will appeal last Monday’s ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Ganduje as the national chairman of the party, saying interpretation of the 2022 Constitution of the APC as amended, which outlined the zoning arrangement, was neglected by the court.
The North-Central APC Forum had dragged Ganduje, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before the court praying for the nullification of the appointment of Ganduje as the national chairman of the party.
The Forum said the appointment is a violation of the APC Constitution, as well as the party’s zoning arrangement which ceded the chairmanship position to the North-Central, and not the North-West region where Ganduje comes from.
Also, the Forum claimed that the appointment of Ganduje as national chairman breached Article 13 of the APC Constitution because it was not done through a democratic process, as enshrined in the party’s laws.
But in his ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Federal High Court dismissed the suit, noting that the APC North-Central Forum is not a juristic person, and as it is not registered in law, has no legal power to file the suit.
Also, Justice Ekwo said that the plaintiff failed to explore the internal mechanism for peaceful resolution of issues before rushing to the court, adding that the appointment of officers for APC by its National Executive Committee, NEC, is an internal affair of the party which no court can dabble into.
Faulting the ruling, Zazzaga said the APC North-Central Forum explored the party’s internal crisis resolution mechanism but did not get any result, hence the decision to approach the court.
“The North-Central APC Forum is well recognized as a support group within the party since 2018, and the evidence of the letter of recognition as a support group is there.
“Besides, we are chieftains and members of the party alike, and as individuals and groups, can’t we express our grievances if we feel that the party Constitution is being fouled? Can’t we seek legal redress as either individual or group? We are even more formidable than some party members and groups who have sought legal redress to contestable issues which remain unresolved.
“And on the issue which the court said we didn’t seek internal crisis resolution mechanism, we have pursued our cause through varied means but we were not paid attention. We have consulted and aired our grievances through the party stakeholders in the region; we have protested again and again and we have also done media publications to that effect, among other things.
“So, if these and more were engaged in without result and we approached the court to seek redress, what is wrong about that, since it’s legal means that we followed? But the defendants’ argument was what the judgement almost recounted, without considering our key arguments that are fact-based.
“Nevertheless we will keep pursuing our case to the end. At least, posterity will judge us fairly that we have legally and legitimately pursued a good and honest cause within the party.
“And as for Ganduje, we will not allow him to destroy the APC in the North-Central region. Since we have been pursuing our demand for the region, some people for their selfish interests have been lobbied to betray the region.
“We saw some of them who rushed to Ganduje to congratulate him after the court judgment. Is it not laughable that one is celebrating a judgement against his own region for what is constitutionally arranged to be for the region?
“Our joy remains that our fight is not that of a selfish interest but for the people of the North-Central region and for their democratic benefits. All we want is fairness and equity. And for all those betraying the region, we know them and we will address their betrayal accordingly in the shortest possible time,” Zazzaga said.
Zazzaga equally called on President Bola Tinubu to consider the injustice being done to the North-Central.
He noted that Ganduje remaining in office will make the people of the North-Central to feel that they have been relegated to the background, adding that the situation could affect the party in the region because most stakeholders are united in the struggle.
