Are Ganduje and his supporters really planning to leave the APC party?

The Kano State government in northwestern Nigeria has denied rumors that state governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his party are planning to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PRP.

The rumors follow a meeting between the governor’s APC faction in an attempt to appeal a court ruling in Abuja regarding the election of party leaders in constituencies and local government areas of Kano.

Friday’s ruling gives the Shekarau faction, which is at loggerheads with Governor Ganduje, a victory.

Judge Hamza Muazu who handed down the verdict also ordered the Ganduje faction seeking the ouster of the Shekarau faction leader to pay a fine of one million shillings.

The governor’s plan to defect from the APC has been linked to a ruling that has further fueled the APC crisis in Kano between the faction of former governor Senator Shekarau.

But in an interview with BBC Hausa, Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso, the state commissioner for rural development, who is one of the leaders of the Ganduje faction, said the issue was baseless.

“They are trying to leave the APC, not us, but the incumbent governor will do the same. “Those in the party will leave because of the crisis. They are the ones who are planning to leave,” he said.
“The APC has said, ‘We will continue to work for reconciliation, because the political crisis is not new and will be resolved as long as the dissidents remain in the party,'” he said. They are not out. “

Adding to the controversy is the annulment of the party’s constituency leadership by the state government, following a lawsuit filed by Malam Ibrahim Shekarau’s party.

‘We will appeal’

Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso said they would appeal the verdict, which was upheld by the Abuja High Court.

According to him, “there is a court of appeal, and we will appeal.

“There is no mention of Danzago in the APC presidency in Kano at all, because if you are not the leader of the party, it is not a joke. who sent them officials from the party headquarters, “he said.

The rift between the Ganduje and Shekarau factions in Kano has led to the split of the party into two factions with Ahmadu Haruna Zago leading the Shekarau faction and Abdullahi Abbas the Ganduje faction.

Some see the split in the APC in Kano as a major setback for the party in Nigeria especially as the 2023 general elections approach.