by Mohammed Lere,
Seven local government chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in Kaduna State have endorsed the controversial suspension of a senator, Shehu Sani, from the party.
The local governments, LGs, represented by the seven chairmen make up the Kaduna Central senatorial district which Mr. Sani represents in the Senate.
The APC council chairmen who endorsed the suspension are Magaji Bala, Chukun LG; Abdullahi Jariri, Birnin Gwari LG; Musa Shehu, Kaduna North LG; Ibrahim Musa, Giwa LG; Halidu Bature, Igabi LG; Bala Wahab, Kajuru LG; and Ibrahim Soso, Acting Chairman of the APC in Kaduna South.
“We have received information from Ward 6 in Kaduna South LGA of our great party the APC, on the indefinite suspension of the erring Senator Shehu Sani from the party at those levels,” the party chairmen said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
“Subsequently we wish to hereby endorse this suspension by the ward chapter…”
The chairmen said they endorsed the suspension because Mr. Sani was disrespectful to the “party and its leaders,” and because of “his various attempts at causing divisions within the party in the state, by sponsoring frivolous petitions and troublemaking.”
They said Mr. Sani’s actions constitute “serious offenses against the party as captured by article 21 section (A), sub sections i, ii, iii, v, vi and vii of the constitution.”The senator was also suspended for “his continuous refusal to show remorse for his actions and seek forgiveness from any level of the party in the state,” they said.
“We recommend that the state party executive committee make haste in also endorsing this appropriate indefinite suspension,” they said.
The initial suspension by a faction of the party in Mr. Sani’s Ward 6 of Tudun Wada was opposed by the chairman of the party in the ward.
The chairman had accused a political adviser of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, of offering N3 million bribe to the ward officials to suspend the senator, who has been critical of the governor’s performance. Though the alleged beneficiaries denied receiving any bribe, the governor’s aide has kept mum on it.
It was hours after the senator’s statement that the APC council chairmen met to endorse the suspension.On Wednesday, in reply to the suspension by the ward, Mr. Sani released a scathing statement attacking Governor El-Rufai.
In his reaction to the council chairmen’s endorsement, Mr. Sani’s aide, Abdulsamad Amadi, said the signatories were coerced to sign the document.
“The document was already prepared in the government house. They were being practically forced to sign that document. When they see that people are trooping to the government house, they became apprehensive and later took them to the Seventeen hotel to sign the document.
“The suspension letter was never written on a letter headed paper which could mean that anybody could have written that. I am assuring you that by tomorrow or next, some of the chairmen who were claimed to have signed the document will speak with you people.
“The people that signed the letter were not properly constituted as most of the zonal exco members were not consulted and were not carried along. The zonal chairman was not part of the meeting also.” Mr. Amadi said.