APC National Chairman: Moves To Oust Ganduje Put Presidency In Quandary

Facts have emerged to suggest that the Presidency is somewhat in a quandary with regards to how to manage agitations by powerful elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who are scheming for the ouster of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, from office.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it also emerged, has been contending with elements within the party lobbying him to ditch the former Kano State helms- man for another party member.

These developments tend to dispel insinuations in some quarters suggesting that the travails of the party chairman is being orchestrated and fueled from the seat of power.

According to competent party sources who spoke with Saturday Telegraph, Ganduje is a victim of high wire intrigues of powerful forces within the APC who have also recruited elements outside the party to help in the actualisation of their agenda of removing the embattled party chairman from office.

Ganduje was purportedly suspended from office by members of his ward executive committee in Dawakin Tofa Local Government area of Kano State over allegations of corruption and gross official malfeasance.

The action was followed by a Kano State High Court which granted an ex parte order restraining the embattled Ganduje from parading himself as a member of the party.

Subsequently, the court ordered that henceforth Ganduje should desist from presiding over all affairs of the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC.

Though members of the ward executive committee of the APC later debunked the purported suspension, stating that the act was carried out by those they referred to as non-members, the embattled former governor later secured a court order from a Federal High Court in Kano reinstating him in office.

Competent sources who spoke with our correspondent stated that several elements within the party though with different motives are working for his removal from office but they however absolved the seat of power from any complicity in his current travails.

One of the sources, who is a former member of the APC National Working Committee, stated that contrary to belief in some quarters, the crisis is not being instigated by the Presidency but rather it has thrown the nation’s seat of power into some kind of quagmire with regards to how to handle it.

“From all indications and contrary to what many are saying, the crisis is not being instigated by the Presidency.

“Nothing like that exists from all I can see but as I speak to you, the situation has even caused some confusion within the government who is thinking of how to resolve it without ruffling any feathers,” the source said.

According to the source who pleaded not to be named added, “Many of the numerous tendencies seeking Ganduje replacement have been lobbying top officials of the government to ditch him (the former Kano governor).”

This in itself has placed some form of burden on President Tinubu who is said to be suspicious of the lobbyists with regards to their real motive for wanting Ganduje ouster.

“The president is not yielding to the pressure He is an astute politician who knows how to read in-between the lines.

“He knows the implication of doing away with a trusted ally as against en- trusting power to someone he doesn’t trust. “This is the reason why he hasn’t waded into the crisis so far.”

Another source stated: “I can tell you now that the National Chairman of our party is not having it rosy as we speak.

“As I am talking to you, several groups and tendencies within our party with different motives are working for his ouster.”

When asked to categorise the identities of the various elements, the source said: “I know of one or two of them.

“For instance, members of the party from the North Central are not happy that the office is in the North West.

“Many of them believe that it should be occupied by someone from their zone.”

The source also stated that some other elements who feel they have not secured a lot of political and economic mileage with the continued stay of the former governor are also lining up against him.

“These people are powerful elements within the party. If you don’t know, the office of the National Chairman of any ruling party is such a powerful one.

“The office is so powerful because it is the door between the party and the government.

“The holder has unfettered access to the seat of power, particularly to the President for you to know how powerful it is “Any group that controls the seat usually secured some form of politi- cal, economic and resource mileage within government.

“So, what you find is that the holder of such office usually maximises the opportunity to interface with power, and of course everyone who understands the dynamics of power will covet such office. “I think this is what is happening to Ganduje now,” the source said.

Source: New Telegraph