Shekarau Says No Democracy In APC, Declares Loyalty To PDP
Hundreds of supporters and well-wishers of former governor of Kano state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau gathered at his Mundubawa residence on Wednesday where he denounced his membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) with a verdict that the party lacked leadership structure and internal democracy.
He declared his membership and loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He regretted that six months after its registration, APC leadership has refused to conduct elections into the national, state, local government and ward executives, adding that no single member of the party has been duly registered.
He further stated that lack of leadership structure, internal democracy and detailed political programme that could enable it win elections in 2015 were lacking in APC
Shekarau who flagged the ANPP presidential flag in 2011 recounted his grouse with the APC leadership citing lack of internal democracy in the APC, Shekarau said he was dumping the party because, “a cabal has hijacked the leadership of the party for their own selfish interest.”
According to him, the defection of PDP governors in Rivers, Kano, Adamawa, Sokoto and Kwara states further created complex leadership problems within the APC, pointing out that six months after, “there has not been membership registration in the APC from national to the Ward level, no single member has been officially registered.”
Shekarau who was also the immediate past governor of Kano state regretted that six months after installing an Interim national leadership, the APC has not deemed it right to conduct elections that would usher in duly elected leadership.
And Shekarau declared that: “On behalf of the leaders of the defunct ANPP, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this gigantic stakeholders meeting of the Kano state Elders Forum. In the past couple of weeks, we have held series of consultations, we have held series of interactive sessions in respect of development and growth of the new found party, APC. The APC is today six complete months six after its formal registration on the 31 July, 2013.
“Within these six months, there is nothing to show on ground, not a single member of APC has been registered, not a single leadership structure exists anywhere within the states. No structure of Interim Leadership at Ward levels, at Local Government levels, at state levels. Up till this time, we are yet to receive any detailed programme of democratic elections to produce leaders of the party at various levels. To our dismay and to our surprise, within the six months which was the formal and official constitutional period given the interim leadership of the party, we now hear that leadership of the interim has no limited period.
“Within these six to months, various unconstitutional decisions have been passed by a clique of the leadership of the party in our position as bonafide members of that party then, we challenged such decisions. We presented written petitions signed by over 250 stakeholders on 18 December, 2013. Today is exactly six weeks since we presented that petition, no acknowledgement, no contact, no one has referred to us to address the petition we have submitted.
“This is the same picture with Sokoto state, same with Kwara, same with Adamawa and Rivers where disgruntled PDP governors have decided to decamp and joined the APC. Failure to address these petitions is a clear indication to us that the leadership of APC has taken sides and is not prepared to listen to genuine grievances which are against the spirit of democracy; it is against the spirit of fair hearing and against the spirit of social justice for which the party stands for.
“It is as a result of this very conspicuous display of injustice that the stakeholders of the ANPP of Kano has assembled here today and moved a motion which has been passed, which has been supported, that we members of the defunct ANPP of Kano state do hereby denounce our membership of the All Progressive Congress, APC,
“We dump the party from this moment; and based on the motion moved and adopted and accepted unanimously, we the members of ANPP stock of Kano state are moving en mass and collectively into the Peoples Democratic Party. We are calling on all our supporters, all our well-wishers in every nook and cranny of Kano state to disassociate themselves with anything that has to do with the APC and join hands with our brothers, our brothers, our sisters and our fellow citizens of Nigeria to take the country to greater height”