By Abiola Olawale
The stormy waters rocking the operations of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, have taken a massive turn as a Federal High Court sitting in Kano State has granted an ex parte order upholding his suspension by his ward executives.
The court in its ruling also granted an order restraining Ganduje from parading himself as the National Chairman of the APC and also as a member of the party.
The presiding judge, Justice Usman Malam Na’abba ordered that henceforth, Ganduje should desist from presiding over all affairs of the National Working Committee of the APC.
The ruling followed an ex parte motion filed by Dr. Ibrahim Sa’ad on behalf of two executive members of Ganduje’s ward, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area, the Assistant Secretary, Laminu Sani and Legal Adviser, Haladu Gwanjo (plaintiffs), who were part of the nine ward executives who suspended Ganduje on Monday.
The court directed the four parties (respondents) joined in the matter, including the APC, NWC, APC Kano State Working Committee, and Ganduje, to henceforth, maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on April 30, 2024.
Justice Na’abba also granted an order to stop State Working Committee APC Kano from interfering with the legally and validly considered decision of executives of Ganduje ward, essentially on action endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the executives as provided by the party constitution.
The ex parte order read, “An order is hereby granted directing all parties in the suit APC (first), APC National Working Committee (second), Kano State Working Committee APC (third), Dr. Abdullah Umar Ganduje (fourth), to maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024.
”The order thereby restraining the first respondent (APC) from recognizing the fourth respondent (Ganduje) as a member of APC and prohibiting the fourth respondent (Ganduje) from presiding over any affairs of the NWC and restraining the state Working Committee from interfering with the legally and validly decision of the ward executives of Ganduje ward.
“That the fourth respondent (Ganduje) is prohibited from parading himself as a member of APC or doing any act that may portray him or seem to be a member of APC pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The New Diplomat reports that the APC’s ward executives of the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State declared on Monday that they had suspended Ganduje.
The ward executives said the suspension came following a petition submitted by a party member from Ganduje’s polling unit, urging them to investigate the accusations of bribery and corruption against the APC national chairman, to protect the party’s image and President Bola Tinubu’s anti-corruption efforts.
While the ward chairman and secretary reportedly failed to act on the petition filed on April 8, nine members, led by the legal adviser, went ahead to pronounce Ganduje’s suspension.
However, their decision was immediately rebutted by the state working committee of the party, who accused the ward executives of anti-party activities and suspended them for six months.
