Some members of the National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Kano State chapter of the party, on Monday, faulted the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, by the leadership of his ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government of Kano State.

The Legal Adviser of the Ganduje ward, Halliru Gwanjo, at a press briefing in Kano on Monday, declared Ganduje suspended from the party.

Gwanzo said the APC ward leadership took the decision in view of the bribery allegations hanging on Ganduje’s neck.

He made reference to the bribery charges, involving  $413,000  and N1.38bn, filed by the Kano State Government against Ganduje and his arraignment scheduled for Thursday, April 18 before the Kano State High Court.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

According to him, the National Chairman of the APC will remain suspended as a member of the ward until he exonerates himself of all the corruption charges slammed against him.

“As the leaders of the APC in Ganduje ward, Dawakin Tofa Local Government, we engaged in thorough deliberations and subsequently decided to suspend the immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, over the allegations of bribery involving foreign currency.

“We are aware that Ganduje has been summoned to court to answer for the accusations, a development we believe can affect the reputation of our esteemed political party.

“So, we have resolved to pass a vote of no confidence in Ganduje and to collectively on behalf of all executive members of the APC in Ganduje ward, Dawakin Tofa suspend him, until he clears himself and his family at the court.”

The ward legal adviser said the leadership of the party at the Ganduje ward level was being subjected to unnecessary embarrassment from the New Nigeria People’s Party over unsubstantiated allegations of corruption levelled against Ganduje’s administration.

“As a result we deem it fit to sack the national chairman to enable him to concentrate on the litigation and other issues to clear his image and that of his family,” Gwanzo said.

According to him,  President Bola Tinubu, who is the national leader of the APC, has demonstrated commitment to the fight against corruption, pointing out that the allegations of corruption against Ganduje may affect the President’s efforts.

But in a swift reaction, the Kano State Chapter of the APC overruled Ganduje’s suspension and instead slammed a six-month suspension on the Ganduje ward executive members.

The Kano State APC Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, said that the party adopted the decisions of the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Local Government APC leadership, which suspended the ward executives.

The Kano APC chairman said the party had found out that the ward executives would announced Ganduje’s suspension were working for the ruling NNPP in Kano State.

“We have evidence of meetings between the state government officials and those that suspended the National Chairman, and the State Working Committee has agreed to sanction them for six months and they stand for now Suspended,” Abbas said.

Also, the national leadership of the APC in Abuja dismissed Ganduje’s suspension by the ward, saying the party’s National Working Committee was not carried along.

This was even as some NWC members alleged that the move must have been orchestrated by the Kano State government and the hierarchy of the New Nigerian People’s Party in the state.

The National Legal Adviser of the APC, Prof. Abdulkareem Kana, described the development as a foul play from the ruling NNPP government in Kano.

He said, “There is nothing like suspension anywhere. It is the NNPP that is playing a prank and this is a very dangerous game they are playing. This is coming from me as a member of the APC NWC. No organ or structure of the party is involved in this so-called suspension.

“We don’t even know the ward party leaders involved. Let them go and check our Constitution to see what it says about the suspension of members more so the National Chairman of the APC. Before a member can be said to be suspended, the NWC must approve it and, in the case of the national chairman, the NEC must also approve.

“How can a ward just wake up one day and announce that it has suspended the national chairman? So my official reaction to this rumour is this: First, it is not true that anything like that happens. Secondly, they don’t have the capacity to do that. So it is just nonsense talk.”

His position was shared by the Senior Special Assistant to the APC National Chairman on Public Enlightenment, Chief Oliver Okpala.

Okpala claimed those pushing for the suspension of the party’s national chairman were dissident members who were being used by the NNPP government.

“Those behind the alleged suspension are dissident members who have no locus. They are no more than political thugs being used to cause disaffection in the party. But I am glad the Kano APC has put the record straight by voiding the baseless propaganda and casting aspersions on the perpetrators.

“You can even tell the bias and vindictive nature of the Kano government from the manner the probe panel against the national chairman is being set up.  It is a clear indication that the NNPP government will stop at nothing, even trying to infiltrate the rank and file of the APC at state and ward levels. But it cannot hold any water.”

Also reacting, Ganduje’s Special Adviser on Legal Matters, Jamilu Jams, has called for the immediate arrest of all the indicted party leaders in Ganduje ward.

Jams, who is popularly known as Jamilu SAN, made the call while speaking to in Kano on Monday.

He said, ”We have completed arrangements to petition the IGP so that the culprits can be arrested and prosecuted.

“Based on our investigation and the pictures we have of those behind the suspension, they were sponsored by the NNPP to cause trouble in the state.”

He also insisted that the Kano State Attorney General lacked the power to file charges against Ganduje.

He said, “Muhuyi Magaji lacks locus standi to file the corruption charges against Ganduje at that court. We are fully prepared to file a preliminary objection to that case anytime from now.

“To be fair, let the investigation start from 1999 to date and at last he (Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf) should wait for his own investigation after the expiration of his tenure (s),” he said.

When contacted, the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, queried: “Suspend the national chairman on what grounds?”

“I can’t speak on that. You may need to discuss this with the national publicity officer. I have no comment,” Argungu said.

But the Deputy Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, told our correspondent that the NWC was not officially communicated on the alleged suspension.

Duru said until such a move was properly communicated, it remained in the realm of conjectures.

He said, “As the normal channel of communication, we are not aware. Just like you, we read it in the news wire, which is being circulated and shared across all platforms. But we have not been informed of that and we wonder whether this is how communications within an internal party is conducted.

“However, we will wait to see if indeed that has been communicated to the party. But as of now that I speak with you, no formal communication of such a thing has reached the party. Until that is done, we can’t give consideration to such talk. It remains in the realm of conjectures. Ganduje is just not the National Chairman of the party, we are talking about a man who was a two-term deputy governor of Kano State and, of course, he also became a governor under the flag of the party.

“It will be curious to lose the support of his state, let alone the ward where he is resident. But again, there is no defence offered unless this is communicated, only then can we make a proper determination whether the proper channel was used and whether the ward can actually suspend him.”