APC begins reconciliation moves in Niger, as governor explains sack of Chairman, two others

Looking forward to the next round of elections in 2023, the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State has resolved to rebuild and reposition the party constituting a reconciliation committee and four others.

The reconciliatory committee is headed by General Mohammed Garba.

Other committees include, Party membership, Finance, Publicity and Contact and Mobilization.

The resolutions were endorsed at the SEC meeting held at Government House Monday night at the instance of the leader of the party in the state, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.

In attendance were members of the National Assembly led by Senator Abdullahi Sabi and other party chieftains.

Addressing the meeting, the Governor implored members to protect APC by paying deserved attention to affairs of the party in the state.

He said, “We have to make sure that we go by the constitution of the party, we have to rebuild the party. It is time for us to reunite, hold and protect the party. I call on you to pay attention to events happening in the party so that everybody would be carried along”.

He explained that the allegations of financial misappropriation leveled against the former Chairman, Engineer Jibrin Imam and two other officials of the party were too weighty to be brushed aside with a wave of the hand, which is why relevant provisions of the party constitution were invoked to remove them from office.

According to him, “it is an aberration for the former Chairman not to call for SEC and caucus meetings of the party in almost four years from 2015 to 2019 against the party’s constitutional provision for such meetings quarterly. Something is fundamentally wrong. Let me also make it clear that there is no conflict between the former chairman and I as insinuated in some quarters. My position is that we must abide by the provisions of the constitution in running the affairs of the party”.

In a presentation by members of the 9th National Assembly from the state led by Senator Abdullahi Sabi representing Niger North, the federal lawmakers declared their loyalty to the Governor as the state leader of the party while calling for proper reconciliation among aggrieved members.

The lawmakers urged Governor Sani Bello to continue with the peace building process in the state chapter of the party as he is doing at the national level to avoid defection of aggrieved members, adding that, “we do not want to lose any member as a result of this issue”.

A chieftain and founding father of the APC in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, who moved the motion for the adoption of recommendations presented to the SEC by the Caretaker committee of the party chaired by Aliyu Saidu Kalgago, explained that alleged constitutional breaches by the former Chairman cannot be ignored.

He said that SEC as the highest decision making organ of the party in the state must apply Article 17(5) and (6) of the party constitution on leaders who are found wanting adding that “we cannot have unity without following due process as provided by our constitution. I therefore move for the adoption of the resolutions as presented by the caretaker committee to this meeting”.