The Tudun Wada Ward executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State on Tuesday dissociated themselves from the previous day’s suspension of the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Mallam Shehu Sani, from the party.
But the unanswered question police investigators must make public is, who forged the ward executives’ signatures to suspend Sani on Monday for a period of 11 months?
But the Secretary of the ward, Ahmed Abdulhamid; the Public Relations Officer, Auwal MaiAnguwa and ex-officio member, Aminu Alilan, who purportedly signed the suspension letter, said their signatures were forged.
“Three people were said to have signed the suspension letter. The third person was a delegate and not an ex-officio as stated in the statement.
“The whole letter is forged and none of the ward executive appended his signature or is even aware of the suspension [until it was made public].
“That is why we called for a meeting today to make our positions known to the world.
“What happened was that we had a meeting Tuesday and we did not reach any conclusion. It was on that basis that we requested him (Senator Shehu Sani) to come and explain some of the issues raised against him.
“The party shall investigate the sources of this statement because the three executives mentioned to have signed the statement have denied knowledge of it,” Abbas Mohammed, Chairman of Tudun Wada ward of the APC said.
The ward secretary and the PRO also denied signing the statement, insisting that their signatures were forged.
A reporter in Kaduna observed that the state party executives and some party leaders met at the state secretariat of the party on Ali Akilu Road on Tuesday.
Some of the party’s leaders, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, also denied prior knowledge of the suspension.
“We are not aware of any suspension of Senator Sani. In fact, we are convening a meeting now, and we have also summoned him to come,” one of the state executive council members said.
In the suspension letter circulated on Monday, the party said Sani’s offences were “violating the rules of engagement of the party, factionalizing the party, and engaging in anti-party activities by criticizing the policies of Governor Nasir El-Rufai.”
An aide to Sani, Suleiman Ahmed, said it was clear that those who wrote the letter were ignorant of the laws guiding the APC.
He said although it was clear from the letter that the people were out to stop the Senator from criticizing “the anti-people policies of the El-Rufai administration”, they would not be able to stop him from expressing his views on what affects the people.
“They are toeing the line of the state secretariat of the party, so our reaction is that those who wrote this letter are ignorant of the party’s constitution and they are dancing to the tune of the state executive of the party and Governor Nasir El-Rufai,” he said.
Sen. Sani will continue to criticise Gov. el-Rufai’s ‘anti-people’ policies — Aide
Malam Suleiman Ahmed, the Special Assistant to Senator Shehu Sani (APC- Kaduna) on Politics and Ideology, says nothing will deter his principal from criticising the “anti-people” policies of the state government.
Ahmed said so emphatically in an interview with NAN in Kaduna on Tuesday while reacting to the alleged suspension of the Senator by the Tudun Wada North, Ward 6 of APC.
The party at the ward level in a letter dated Dec. 7 and by the party’s Ward Secretary, Malam Ahmed Abdullahi; the Public Relations Officer, Malam Auwal Anguwa; and an Ex-Officio member, Malam Aminu Alilan, suspended Sani for 11 months.
The letter said that Sani was suspended for consistently criticising the policies of Gov. Nasir el-Rufai, an act which the APC ward executives described as “anti-party”.
The aide said that the suspension would only strengthen his principal’s resolve to criticise any policy of the el-Rufai administration that he considered “anti-people”.
“This letter is not relevant; it has no value to us; this letter will energise him the more; it will strengthen his resolve to criticise the government of the state if it goes wrong. The Senator will continuously criticise any (government) policy that is anti-people up to the end of (his tenure in) the Senate and beyond.
“So if you feel that the Senator should not criticise the government of the day because he is part of the party that brought the current government to power, then when he comes out to re-contest in 2019, do not vote for him.
“He will criticise the government, whether or not he comes back as a senator in 2019. This is because Sani has been consistent in his criticism of anti-democratic processes and elements; he did not start his criticism (in the current) democratic (dispensation).
“He has been doing criticism of anti-people policies right from the military era. That’s what has caused his imprisonment on several occasions.”
The aide said that the senator would consider seeking legal redress if served with a genuine suspension letter in line with standard procedure.
He explained that the ward executives had invited the Senator to the ward office to defend himself against some allegations levelled against him.
According to him, barely 24 hours after receiving the invitation, the ward office of the party sent a suspension letter to him.
He said, “This is a clear violation of standard procedure in line with the party’s constitution, which renders the letter invalid.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the party in Makarfi Local Government Area, Malam Tukur Abba, has condemned the alleged suspension of Sani.
Speaking at a news conference in Kaduna, Abba said that due process was not followed in the purported suspension of the Senator.
“We are at the executive committee level of the party. Who is the complainant? What is the nature of the complaint? Who is the alleged offender?
“Is the action in compliance with the provision of the party’s constitution? Is the state executive committee properly constituted to carry out the purported action?
“Is this action not the handiwork of few members of the State Working Committee members purporting to act as a superior body to the State Executive Committee?
“I am sure majority of the above questions will be answered in the negative. I therefore, disassociate myself from whatever decision taken.”
-PremiumTimes/Leadership