The All Progressives Congress (APC) has cautioned its members against unnecessary protests, contrary to its Constitution.
Mr Nze Duru, the APC Deputy National Organisng Secretary, said this on Thursday in Abuja while reacting to a protest by some individuals who claimed to be the APC North Central stakeholders, demanding the resignation of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje as the party’s National Chairman.
The protesters chanted solidarity songs and displayed banners reading ‘Return APC National Chairmanship to North Central’ and ‘Dr Ganduje, kindly resign., said the position was zoned to their region.
They said the seat, previously occupied by Dr Abdullahi Adamu be returned to the North Central.
Few minutes into their protest, the procession was scuttled by suspected hoodlums who swamped on the aggrieved protesters, making them to flew in different directions.
Duru, while reacting to the development, said the protesters were probably not aware of the new arrangement reached at party’s last National Executive Committee (NEC)at its last meeting.
He said that the NEC which was the party’s highest organ had moved the office of the national chairman previously held by the North Central, to North West while the office of legal adviser was re-zoned to North Central.
He said the decision was reached before Ganduje emerged as the APC national chairman in 2023.
“I am not aware of the so-called agitation for the resignation of the national chairman by North Central people, but I am aware that at the last NEC.meeting.
“The party took a decision that assumed the power of a convention, which the party’s Constitution allows to do in circumstances such as this to re-basket and re-zone the national offices.
“That is very important, so if the claim is that it is illegal and that the office of the national chairman should be resident in North Central.
“The only conclusion one can make is that such a claim is hinged on a very faulty foundation.
“To stretch that argument further, the necessary steps to take toward suspending a candidate or removing a candidate are already enshrined in the party’s constitution,” Duru said.
He added that one of such steps was not by an amorphous group to come together to demand the resignation of the party’s national chairman.
The APC Deputy National Organising Secretary said steps to be taken in such situations were already in the party’s Constitution.
“And we urge this group, if at all they are our members, to go through the party’s Constitution and advise themselves accordingly,” he said.
Malam Aamisu Suleiman, Plateau State Coordinator of the North Central APC stakeholders while addressing journalists after they reconvened a few blocks away from the party’s secretariat, said they would not be deterred until justice was served.
“We came here only to be attacked by some sponsored thugs, they did not only beat us, they stripped us of our banners and drove our people away from the APC secretariat.
“Today, we are here to protest the unfair treatment meted out to people of the North Central, this is because the national chairmanship of the APC was mistakenly given to Ganduje.
“We are therefore calling on President Bola Tinubu to correct the anomaly,we know he will listen to us, the APC chairmanship position is supposed to be zoned according to its Constitution to the North Central.
“And the same Constitution confers the position on us, unfortunately, it was zoned to the North West and we will not accept it,we are here for justice and justice must be served,” he said.
Also speaking, Sani Jigas, who identified himself as the Nasarawa State chairman of APC North Central Forum, appealed to governors in the zone to mount pressure on the president during their planned stakeholders meeting slated for Saturday.
“This is our mandate. It is well known to everybody that there is a consensus at the national convention that the APC chairmanship position should be zoned to the North Central,we are still agitating for that.
“We are not afraid of thugs, we will remain here until justice is done,” he said, adding that governors and stakeholders from the region should intervene in the issue in their forthcoming meeting.
He appealed to President Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, to help influence the process of a peaceful transition of the party chairmanship seat back to their region.