Ganduje Defiant, Says Purported Suspension Conspiracy Against Tinubu 2027 Reelection Bid

…As APC Declares ‘Court Order Fraudulently Obtained’

Former Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has remained defiant and has vowed to stay on as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A State High Court in Kano had on Wednesday affirmed his suspension from office and warned him to stop parading himself as the National Chairman of the party.

This followed his suspension by the Ganduje Ward over allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Kano State Governor while he was governor.

But on Wednesday while receiving those he said are the authentic ward executive committee members from Ganduje ward, the under fire Ganduje said it was a conspiracy against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.

The delegation of 27 said they were the authentic executive members of his ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State.

Members of the National Working Committee and executive members of Kano APC also attended the meeting.

Ganduje, who welcomed the delegation declared, “They (27 Ward Executive Committee) are all members of my ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government in Kano State. But we have heard your complaint.

“You complained that you have dissociated yourselves from that false claim (suspension) and in addition, you have appealed that we take appropriate legal action according to the rule of law. This is very vital.

“When we first heard the news, we knew it was not true. But we had to exercise patience to affirm those behind it. After a formal investigation, it was found that those who met with officials of the Kano State government were not executive members either at the ward, state or even members of our party.

“These lies are peddled by the NNPP and the governor of Kano State to destroy our party because they are so concerned that during their first year in office, the people have seen the destruction of the economy of Kano down to the increase in political violence and also the destruction of political morality.

“With all these put together, they have started seeing the failure of their party. They are more concerned that we might take over the government from their party in 2027.”

He urged his supporters not to panic, that he had informed security agents including the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Director General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi about the development.

According to him, “They are also concerned that we produced the second highest votes for Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They are so afraid we might produce far higher votes that can make the president retain his seat.

“So we know that their motive is to create confusion so that we will not have the courage to take over the government again and also to ensure that our President, Bola Tinubu, does not have the intimidation votes of that kind from Kano State again.

“We will tell them that their intention is impossible. That intention will fail. We will show them that our platform in Kano state is rock solid and it is getting ready to give Mr President very high votes, even the highest.

“This is a new distracted phenomenon in a democracy that should not be allowed to thrive in a political party.

“More importantly, you cannot just gather people from motor parks and claim that they are members of another political party.

“This new dimension of distraction should be checked by the security agencies and even the judiciary. We will not allow those saboteurs and fake APC politicians to go free like that. We have already written the IGP and DG of the DSS to pursue the case.

“We have their names, know their phone numbers, and even their political leanings. You have heard that some of them were even wearing the so-called red caps.

“They are so daft and insensitive. We assure you that we will pursue this case to a logical conclusion,” he said.

The APC meanwhile has declared that the court order was “fraudulently obtained.”

Speaking shortly after Ganduje met with his Kano ward’s executive members, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Prof Abdulkareem Kana, said, “We all saw the visit of the ward and local government officials to the party chairman today. They are ordinarily the people who should be involved in the trending issues of the purported suspension.

“We immediately filed a complaint to the police and have copies of it served to the IGP, urging them to investigate the individuals behind it, especially as all the major stakeholders have shown up to disassociate themselves from the action.

“They did not only distance themselves from the action but also disowned it. We don’t know where all these things are coming from. Our preliminary investigation showed that it was a fraud and a typical 419 situation.

“Unfortunately, they went too far in raising fraudulent documents and circulating them. We also heard about it (ex parte order) this afternoon.

“But we are yet to see the court order they used the same fraudulent document to obtain. Whatever order that emanates from such a document will also be an order obtained by fraud.

“All of us know that an order obtained by fraud is unlawful, and we are not going to recognise, respect, or obey it. The individuals behind it are not from the APC. We don’t know them, and that remains our position.

“In addition to the complaint we have made to the police, the Ganduje Ward exco will visit the National Judicial Council to submit the petition against the judge that gave the order,” he said.