The Federal High Court in Abuja denied the lawsuit filed by the North Central All North Central Progressives Congress, or APC Forum, to remove Abdullahi Ganduje from his position as the party’s national chairman. The APC Forum has announced that it will appeal the decision.
Recalls that the North Central APC Forum had petitioned the court to have Ganduje’s appointment as the party’s national chairman revoked, dragging him, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before it.
According to the Forum, the appointment violates both the party’s updated 2022 constitution and the zoning scheme, which designates chairmanship posts for members of the North Central area rather than Ganduje’s home region of the North West.
Furthermore, the forum said that because Ganduje’s appointment did not follow the democratic procedures outlined in the party’s legislation, it violated Article 13 of the APC Constitution.
In his ruling on Monday, Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the lawsuit on several grounds, including that the APC North Central Forum lacked the legal authority to submit the lawsuit and was not a recognized legal entity.
Ekwo further stated that the plaintiff hurried to court rather than first looking into the party’s internal peaceful dispute settlement process. The APC’s National Executive Committee appoints its officers, and this is an internal matter that the court cannot get involved in.
Saleh Zazzaga, the chairman of the North Central APC Forum, responded to the ruling by stating that they will appeal it and emphasized that their attorney has already been given instructions to do so.
“One vital thing we are seeking from the court is the interpretation of the Party 2022 constitution as amended and the zoning arrangement, but that wasn’t done,” Zazzaga told journalists in Jos, the Plateau State Capital.
As a result, he stated, “We will pursue this cause to a legal and logical conclusion, while we will continue our strategy with the party chieftains and stakeholders from the region for the rights, privileges and benefit of the region within the APC structure and the APC administration in general.
He said that a small number of people in the area have betrayed them in this conflict out of self-interest rather than the good of the entire area, and that they are aware of all of these people. They will take decisive action against those who betray them and identify them so that the people of the area will know for sure who the enemies within are.
“When President Bola Tinubu reportedly tipped Ganduje for ambassadorial appointment in any African country, we know how Ganduje vehemently rejected the idea and he was boasting of winning his court cases. That implies that he can have his way with the judiciary, otherwise, why will he boast of winning such a case, and that of others? But that won’t deter us.
“Just look at the corruption trial Ganduje is facing in Kano alongside his wife, son and other accomplices to the tune of over N50 billion. Look at our case against him and that of his APC ward in Kano.
“The earlier the president and the party know that Ganduje remaining in office is retrogression for the party and will incur legal liabilities for the party, the better.
“Besides, we believe that the party will not want to trade the whole of the North Central region for Ganduje. So the needful should be done fast. That is all I can say to that,” he said.
