From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina
A faction of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Katsina state, popularly known as APC Akida, has called on the National Secretariat of the party to urgently set up a Caretaker Committee to oversee the affairs of the party in Katsina state.
Addressing a press conference at the weekend in Katsina, the Zonal Chairman of Katsina Central zone of APC Akida, Alhaji Bello Abdu Rimi, alleged that the status of the current executives of the party at all levels in the state was a subject of litigation hence the need for a caretaker committee.
“During the ward, local and state congresses of the party, we raised alarm that there were no such congresses conducted in the state and we therefore headed to court to seek redress. And since the matter was in court, it is not proper for any person to parade himself or herself as executive of the party” he said.
Similarly, Rimi stressed that his group was totally against indirect primaries in selecting the party’s flag bearers for the forthcoming 2019 elections, adding that they are fully in support of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s position of supporting direct primaries.
He alleged that “If at all we in Katsina are loyal and obedient to the President, we should be the first state to support his views of indirect primaries. But because APC in Katsina was taken over by the PDP people, they no longer respect or show loyalty to him”.
The zonal chairman therefore warned that should the alleged kangaroo executives of the party in the state decided to go for the indirect primaries, their group would be left with no option other than to head to court.
However, in a swift reaction, the Director General of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency, Dikko Umar Radda, said APC in Katsina is one and that there was no factions.
He said those parading themselves as APC Akida were PDP members sent to the party as moles to destroy the APC, adding that there was no Court Order stopping the state executives or the congresses.
Radda noted that all stakeholders of the party freely opted for the indirect primaries, adding not nobody was coarse or intimidated during the stakeholders meeting when a decision was reached.
