Kaduna State All Progressives Congress gubernatorial Aspirant, Alhaji Bashir Abubakar has condemned APC gubernatorial delegates election, describing it as a sham and a charade, while calling on the party’s national leadership to intervene.
The Director General, Alhaji Bashir Abubakar Governorship Campaign Organisation, Mr James Bawa Magaji told journalists in Kaduna that “there was no delegate election on Saturday, what happened was a charade. All our supporters and security agencies can attest to that because our delegates and our supporters went to all the offices in Zone 1 (Kaduna North) preparatory to the delegates election but nobody was there.
“There was no delegates election in Zone 2 (Kaduna Central) and Zone 3 (Kaduna South) it was a sham, where people sat and signed to say they did consensus. I don’t know the meaning of their own consensus where it was the decision of their camp alone, nobody from the other parties were involved. What kind of consensus is that? If there are two or more aspirants and they agree to step down for one party, that is consensus.
“But the parties must put their agreement down in writing and such consensus must be affirmed to by the delegates. After all the aspirants bought forms, only three governorship aspirants returned their forms, Alhaji Sani Sha’aban, Alhaji Bashir Abubakar and Sen. Uba Sani. If there were any consensus, the three parties should be aware of it and agree with each other on who to step down for who.
“The delegates election never took place, so the party leadership at the national and state level must rise up and ensure that justice is done and it is seen to be done.”
Also speaking, the Kaduna North Coordinator of Alhaji Bashir Abubakar Campaign organisation, Alhaji Hassan Saleh Jirgi said there was no delegate congress anywhere in the state.
“As a stakeholder, I should know if there was any, there was nothing like that. The delegates election was done in a way in which we don’t understand” he emphasized.
“We are all members of the APC for the required number of years, we bought delegates forms against all odds, filled them but we were not allowed to submit the forms” he said.
“Other aspirants have been given five slots each for delegates for this election but we were not given any. Only to be told that there is consensus which is not to the knowledge of our aspirant. That is not what the party constitution says” He lamented.
You cannot win governorship election by forcing yourself on the people.
“Ahead of the May 20th, 2022 primaries, the party leaders at the national and state level needed to do something to ensure that our mandate, recognition and intent are protected. The party should come in and ensure that we partake in the primaries. If we lose, we know that and if we win, we know that instead of knocking us out technically. Let us go to a direct primary and let a winner emerge.
“Governor Nasir el-Rufai has been an advocate of justice, he has been in the forefront seeking for power shift to the South in 2023, he is from Zone 2 and by 2023 he would have ruled for eight years and the person he wants to hand over to is also from Zone 2, he needs to realise the need for power to shift to zone 1 or zone 3.”
Cov/Adamu Yusuf