…Aggrieved members protest in Kebbi
Some aggrieved members of the APC in Kebbi State, yesterday, protested against the ward congresses held on Saturday in the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in the state.
They rejected the consensus arrangement adopted by the party and insisted that election rather than consensus must be allowed for the conduct of the ward congresses.
The protesters, who were drawn from the 225 wards from the 21 LGA, marched through the streets to the party secretariat opposite NITEL road in Birnin Kebbi with placards with inscriptions such as “We Jigawa State chapter of the APC has appealed to all aggrieved members after last Saturday’s ward congresses to help focus on how best to build the party in order to win the 2019 general elections. The chairman of the party, Ado Sani Kiri, who made the call yesterday, while speaking with Daily Trust, said out of the officials elected from the 287 wards across the state, 70 per cent were elected through consensus, while the remaining need no consensus but congress in Kebbi”, and “We say no to injustice and congress must be held”, among others.
While addressing journalists at the APC secretariat in Birnin Kebbi, the leader of the protesting members, Adamu Garba Gulma, said, “What happened in Kebbi State were not congresses. The government and some top APC leaders only tele-guided the congresses to their advantage. They decided the outcome of the congresses. And we are the people that fought for the APC at the grassroots.”
Gulma added that what happened was far from fairness which President Muhammadu Buhari preached. positions were keenly contested.
Kiri, who commended the conduct of his party faithful that led to the conduct of rancourfree congresses, said the success achieved could not be possible without their cooperation.
In his remarks, the chairman of the congress committee sent from the national headquarters of the party to supervise the election in Jigawa, Musa Inuwa, expressed happiness with the high sense of moral discipline exhibited while conducting the election.