Magoro’s report heightens tension in Kano APC
The Kano State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been in a serious leadership crisis since March this year. The crisis started after the Executive Committee of the party suspended the chairman and organising secretary, Alhaji Umar Haruna Doguwa and Alhaji Sanusi Surajo Kwankwaso respectively, over an alleged violation of the party’s constitution in the course of discharging their duties.
The two executive members were replaced by Abdullahi Abbas and Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Speaker in an interim capacity, pending the outcome of the investigation of a seven-man disciplinary committee headed by Alhaji Haruna Amadu Dan-Zago.
The development, according to political pundits, was one of the consequences of the controversial condolence visit to Governor Ganduje by Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwnakwaso when the former lost his mother.
Shortly after that unfortunate political disharmony that took place in Ganduje village, Alhaji Doguwa held a press briefing where he condemned the incident and blamed Senator Kwankwaso for the crisis. However, a day after the briefing, Doguwa made a u-turn and withdrew his earlier position on the incident. In a press statement, he said some of Ganduje’s political associates forced him to invite journalists for briefing.
The development, Daily Trust on Sunday observed, led to the immediate suspension of Doguwa and Kwankwaso. That was the beginning of the current crisis between Doguwa and Abbas. While the former is a diehard supporter of Kwankwaso, the latter is a strong loyalist of the incumbent governor.
This crisis in the party deepened during a by-election in Minjibir constituency, Minjibir Local Government Area, to fill a vacant seat in the Kano State House of Assembly following the demise of Alhaji Tahir Hamisu Gurjiya who represented the constituency.
The two warring factions caused serious chaos in Minjibir town during the by-election, a situation that forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel and postpone the election indefinitely.
The resident electoral commissioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu Kaugama, who was deployed to Kano from Kaduna State to supervise the by-election, said the postponement became necessary to avoid further crisis in the area.
The INEC later fixed another date for the election, and eventually, the candidate of the Ganduje-led faction won.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that several attempts were made within and outside Kano State to reconcile the two groups, but all efforts failed as both Doguwa and Abbas claimed the chairmanship seat of the party in the state.
However, about two weeks ago, the national body of the party sent a fact-finding committee to the state to investigate whether or not the processes followed in suspending Doguwa and Kwankwaso were in conformity with the party’s constitution.
As part of efforts by the national headquarters of the party to resolve the lingering crisis, a fourman committee, led by Senator Mohammed Magoro, was set up.
Speaking to newsmen on the first day they arrived in Kano, Senator Magoro said: “We are not in Kano to push blames to anybody. We were sent to investigate the crisis and establish whether due process was followed or not in the suspension of Doguwa and Kwankwaso. Our task is to assess the procedures followed by the party’s State Executive Committee to arrive at the suspension and report back to the party’s zonal office for further necessary actions. We want to put things on the right track so that peace, understanding and harmony will come back into the party as quickly as possible.”
Magoro assured that members of the two warring factions would be invited by the committee, reiterating that the committee would do justice to all the people concerned for the overall development of the party.
“The party chairman and organising secretary are elected officers, so to suspend them in whatever circumstance, the provisions of the party’s constitution must be adhered to. The party’s constitution is very clear about this. So our committee was assigned to determine whether the procedures were duly followed or not,” Magoro concluded.
Few days after the committee concluded its findings in Kano, our reporter contacted the embattled chairman of the party in the state for comments. In his response, Doguwa confirmed that two of them appeared before the Magoroled committee and submitted their positions in writing. He expressed hope that the recent intervention by the party’s national headquarters would eventually resolve the matter amicably.
“We have briefed the committee on the crisis, and from the look of things, everything will be over soon. I am confident that the committee will do justice to all the parties involved.
“Our argument is that the party’s constitution was not duly followed in removing us from our respective offices,” he said.
Doguwa further said the crisis was made an issue by few individuals who are benefiting from it, adding that such people have continued to fuel it for selfish interests. He said that due process should be followed while taking such actions in the party, reiterating that their suspension was illegal and a complete breach of the constitution.
However, while submitting the committee’s report to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, chairman of the committee, Magoro, affirmed that the decision by the Kano State Executive Committee to remove Doguwa and Kwankwaso from their respective offices followed due process.
“According to our findings, all the procedures required by the party’s constitution were duly followed. The minute and attendance form part of the report. And going by the constitution of the party, the Kano State Executive Committee has the full power to appoint the people to occupy the positions,” he stated.
Senator Magoro further stated that seven people appeared before the committee. He, however, added that Doguwa and Kwankwaso did not appear despite the fact that they were invited.
But in a swift reaction, Doguwa said: “I was surprised and shocked to read on the pages of newspapers that I did not appear before the fact-finding committee. I am in complete disagreement with the statements credited to Magoro in this regard because we appeared before the committee, and in fact, submitted our positions in writing concerning the crisis.
“I can vividly recall that the committee sent invitations to us, and the chairman of the committee called me personally. Also, after we appeared before the committee, Magoro gave me his complementary card; but unfortunately, this man came out publicly and said we did not appear before the committee.
“This is an issue related to party’s constitution; therefore, due process must also be followed before reaching to a conclusion on whether our suspension was genuine or not. Our belief is that after the fact-finding report there are still some other processes that should be followed. We are waiting for the next line of action to be taken by the party. The action of Senator Magoro will not distract us from pursuing our legitimate rights.
“To be honest with you, we are disappointed with the Senator Magoro-led fact-finding committee. Nevertheless, we are going to expose the committee at the appropriate time. We will not allow anybody to tarnish our image,” he said.
This crisis in the party deepened during a by-election in Minjibir constituency, Minjibir Local Government Area, to fill a vacant seat in the Kano State House of Assembly following the demise of Alhaji Tahir Hamisu Gurjiya who represented the constituency. The two warring factions caused serious chaos in Minjibir town during the by-election, a situation that forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel and postpone the election indefinitely