The rift in the Kwara state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to deepen with the two factions led separately by Governor AldulRahman AbdulRazaq and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed accusing each other of anti-party activities.
On Thursday, a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara accused Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of engaging in anti-party activities.
The Legal Adviser of the APC Caretaker Committee in the state, Oladimeji Mustapha, alleged in Ilorin that it was the governor’s anti-party activities that had thrown the APC in the state into a crisis.
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This comes on the heels of the summons by the national leadership of the APC to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed over his recent outbursts against the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
The decision to summon the minister was taken at Tuesday’s meeting of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party. Buni was however absent at the meeting as he was in his state, Yobe, attending to official matters.
Mustapha on his part, while speaking to newsmen at the party’s factional secretariat on Reservation Road, said the APC may have no option than to invoke the provisions of Article 21 of its constitution on the governor.
“Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s cup of injustice to party members and his anti-party activities are overflowing and have reached an anticlimax that has torn the party to rags,” he said.
He alleged that the governor’s anti-party activities included factionalisation of the party by floating a group called ” AA.”
Mustapha also accused the governor of preventing many residents of the state from participating in the registration and re-validation exercise.
“Governor AbdulRazaq’s actions, in-actions and body language that are encapsulated in taciturnity are loaded with aggressive hostility and insults to party elders and his imaginary adversaries.
“You will recall that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq seized the occasion of a book launch to throw verbal missiles and scurrilous language against the person and the office of the Honourabe Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
“He made a wild and slanderous allegation of mismanagement of campaign funds for 2019 elections that was fought and won, fair and square by our party.
“Here is a complainant who had publicly admitted that he contributed not a dime to the electioneering campaign funds nor ever assisted in the day-to-day running of the party in the state.
“We are put out of countenance by the governor’s display of incivility and the exposure of our party to public odium and disrepute by not exploring the party’s internal mechanism to address whatever issues are in contention.
“We would not hesitate to keep the public posted as we make progress on the disciplinary exercise,” he said.
Meanwhile, multiple party sources at the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee told Vanguard on Wednesday night that the party leadership has written the minister asking him to appear before it next Tuesday.
The leadership of the party was reportedly embarrassed by the minister’s actions that it wrote him two letters.
Vanguard sources said the second letter accused the minister of anti-party activities, with his decision last Saturday to open a factional secretariat for the party in the state capital, Ilorin.
“The party, through the National Secretary of the CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe has written the minister, asking him to appear before the committee on Tuesday. The party wants him to explain why he has been engaging the state governor in the manner he has done lately,” said a party source privy to the meeting.
Another source said a second letter was written the minister, querying his recent opening of a factional state secretariat for the party.
“The party views very strongly, weekend’s purported opening of a new state secretariat for the party. That is clearly anti-party. He has factionalized the party. How can you do that at a time that the CECPC is trying to reconcile all stakeholders? Well I cannot preempt what the decision of the committee will be, but any action that will be taken must be approved by Mr President who appointed him as a minister and who is the leader of our party,” he stated.
Efforts to get the National Secretary of the Party’s CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe were however futile as he did not pick calls or reply to short messages sent to his known mobile lines.
Meanwhile, the Kwara state chapter of the party has said it is examining the recent outburst made by the minister with a view to punishing him.
Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the party in Kwara state, Abdullahi Samari Abubakar disclosed this in an interview yesterday in Abuja.
He said the party may apply disciplinary measures according to its constitution.
The minister had recently claimed that he singlehandedly bankrolled the election of the governor in 2019, accusing Mr Abdulrazaq of biting the fingers that fed him.
However, Samari said: “I still see the Minister as a member of our party. Because he has not formally told us that he is moving out of the party which I doubt if he will go. He is a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where the APC as a ruling party is running the administration of government. So I would not think he will want to move out, but from those utterances he made, the party, APC as a structure has guidelines over issues. If we feel that what he said publicly amounts to disrespect or causing acrimony within the party, honestly, we are going to make sure the rules of the party are applied against him and any other person.”
Asked whether the minister will be suspended or expelled from the APC, the Kwara party Chairman said: “Well, there are guidelines like I told you. If the offense is commensurate with suspending him, or any other, definitely the rules of the party are going to apply because nobody is too big to be sanctioned. We want to have sanity in the party.”
