By Dare Balogun, 7th May, 2024
The National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulkarim Kana, says no organ of the party has the right to suspend any member except the National Working Committee (NWC).
Kana, who was on Channels Television on Monday, was reacting to the recent controversial ‘suspension’ of the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, by different factional excos of his ward.
He said that before such action could be carried out, all procedures must have been followed, according to the constitution of the party.
“All those procedures must be exhausted for such penalties to be imposed but as a penalty pending completion of an investigation, no organ of the APC has the power to suspend any member pending investigation except the national working committee,” Kana said.
When queried about such suspension happening in the party in the past, the legal adviser said that was before the APC’s constitution was amended in 2023.
Kana labelled those that suspended Ganduje as “random individuals”, insisting that they are not members of the ruling party.
According to him, the party has investigated the suspension and within a short time established that the individuals are not members of the party’s exco in Ganduje ward.
He said the party has involved the security agencies in the matter for a possible case of identity theft against those that claimed to me ward exco members who suspended the chairman.
The two factions of the Ganduje ward had suspended the membership of their kinsman and national chairman of their party, Ganduje, for an alleged involvement in the misappropriation of public funds and other criminal issues, during his tenure as governor of Kano.
However, the State Working Committee of the APC in Kano swiftly nullified the suspension and took disciplinary actions against the ward executives.
A Federal High Court in Kano also issued an ex parte order temporarily halting the implementation of the suspension until the case is heard and determined.A
Kano State High Court judge who earlier upheld Ganduje’s suspention also vacated the order suspending ex-Kano governor as the National Chairman of the APC.
