The North West National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Inuwa Abdulkadir has accused the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufa’i and a former governor of Kano state, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso of being the brains behind the crisis plaguing the zonal chapter of the APC.
This is as he also accused the duo of sponsoring allegations of fraud against him due to their unhappiness in the way and manner in which the national leadership of the party handled the crisis in both state chapters.
At a news conference Friday in Abuja, Alh Abdulkadir who was flanked by the party’s zonal secretary, Tukur Abdulkadir Gusau said Governor El-Rufa’I, at one point, threatened to beat him (Abdulkadir) up in the presence of governors of the North West geo-political zone.
Recall that the APC Zonal Women Leader (North West), Hajia Aisha Kaita, had last week alleged that Mr Abdulkadir could not account for millions of naira of party funds.
However, addressing journalists at the national secretariat of the party, Abdulkadir said; “I have a full knowledge that she was commissioned to take me on”.
According to him, “a week before she (Kaita) issued the Press Statement, the Media Assistants to Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State, that is the duo of Samuel Aruwan and Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed to one of their colleagues in the media who reliably informed me that Mal Nasir El-Rufai intended to take on me over the APC crisis in Kaduna State. The Media Assistants further disclosed that everything will be done to ensure that I am pulled down; and this they intended to achieve by teaming up with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the former Governor of Kano State as according to them, Senator Kwankwanso too is aggrieved by the party’s decision in respect of the chairmanship position in Kano State.
“However, this did not surprise me because of the previous encounters I had with their principal (Malam Nasir El-Rufai) and his threats and outbursts. Few days later, the Zonal Secretary, Alhaji Tukur Abdulkadir Gusau, was called by Hajiya Aisha Kaita who along with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso spoke with the Zonal Secretary and requested to have a meeting with him in Kaduna on 30th December 2016. Later, Hajiya Aisha Kaita informed the Zonal Secretary that accommodation and other logistic arrangements will be provided by the Kaduna State Government. The Zonal Secretary declined”, the zonal party boss stated.
He said Hajia Kaita’s allegations are mere fabrications designed to ridicule his person and bring him to disrepute.
“I wish to state here that the only funds that were disbursed to the Zone were done through the party account which was opened and operated at the instance of Party’s National Secretariat. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever made any remittance from March 2015 to date into the account of the party. Since then to date, the Zonal Secretariat and the party vehicle are being maintained at my personal expense. In addition to these, my movements to attend party meetings in Abuja and within the Zone are all being undertaken at my personal expense. These finances were duly presented, discussed and approved at the last NEC meeting of the party where Hajiya Aisha Kaita attended and made contributions”, he explained.
Speaking on the crisis rocking the party in Kaduna state, the zonal chairman revealed that “on several occasions, I had meetings with him (El-Rufai) where as the leader of the party in the zone made passionate appeal for him to take leadership and drive a process that harmonise, reconcile and solidify the party in the state.
“One of such occasions appeal I made was in the presence of other governors from the zone in his office but his reaction was volatile and he threatened to beat me up and prevent me from coming into Kaduna.
“I kept my calm as a leader considering the volatility of Kaduna and the attendant threat it poses viz-a-vize the tremendous goodwill and support the part is enjoying in Kaduna state.”
On the allegation of embarrassment, Abdul-Kadir said: “I wish to state here that the only funds that were disbursed to the zone were done through the party account which was opened and operated at the instance of the party’s National Secretariat.”
He added that since 2015 up till date he has been spending his personal money to maintain the zonal office and the party vehicle.
He further declared that he was not against the political ambition of both Senator Kwankwaso and El-Rufai but the duo should allow peace to reign in the party and pursue their personal ambition within the ambits of the party constitution.
Source: Leadership
