The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has accused the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and other individuals from the North Central Zone of being behind the protests against him in Abuja.
There have been protests calling for Ganduje’s removal as the national chairman of the APC, with groups and party chieftains from the North Central leading the charge.
In a statement on Friday by his Special Assistant on Civil Society and Support Groups, Okpokwu Ogenyi, Ganduje alleged that the Kano State government had been hiring protesters from the streets, mostly Kwankwasiyya members, some of whom are from the North Central geopolitical zone, to demand Ganduje’s resignation.
Ganduje called on security agents to be vigilant to ensure the security of lives and property, stating that some of the hired protesters were dressed in Kwankwasiyya T-shirts and caps during a protest at the APC national secretariat.
“We are privy to credible information that Governor Yusuf is working with some persons from the North Central zone and has doled out a huge sum of money to sustain the campaign against the Ganduje-led working committee in his desperate but fruitless mission to remove Ganduje as the national chairman of the APC,” the statement read.
“They have now resorted to using some persons in the North Central geopolitical zone to demand Ganduje’s removal after they failed woefully to achieve their satanic agenda in Kano State. What is of concern to us is the wastage of state resources badly needed in Kano State for the provision of basic amenities to our people. This is politics taken too far.
“Some of the hired protesters also forgot that they were dressed in Kwankwasiyya T-shirts and caps during the protest to the APC national secretariat, yet claimed to be members of the APC; what a dangerous move to scuttle the peace of our party.”
Ganduje’s allegations indicate a deepening rift within the APC and reflect the increasing political tensions within the party.