Zamfara: APC CECPC says Marafa misguided, drops hint of sanction

The national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied as unfounded, the claim by a chieftain of the party in Zamfara State, Senator Kabiru Marafa that it actually suspended the conduct of the ward congress in the North West state.

Senator Marafa while speaking with newsmen on Sunday described the ward congress conducted in the state as an ambush since party stakeholders were not notified.

Marafa had told newsmen that the Governor Buni-led Caretaker Committee ought to have given a 21-day notice before proceeding with the conduct of the ward congress.

But the national secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, in a statement last night said Senator Marafa was misinformed.

Akpanudoedehe said the letter addressed to the Chairman of the Zamfara State APC Ward Congress Committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, was a mere internal memo not meant for INEC.

It maintained that its decision to proceed with the congress was in order.

The party further warned its chieftains against insubordination as it noted that the party constitution frowns at such.

The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to uninformed and misguided comments by Senator Kabiru Marafa regarding the All Progressives Congress (APC) ward congresses held in Zamfara State on Saturday 13th, November 2021.

“While the APC will not join issues with Senator Marafa who is supposed to be one of the party leaders in Zamfara State but chooses to denigrate the party and its leaders, it is important to set the records straight.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the APC received intelligence reports bordering on the security of the Zamfara State APC ward congress committee, hence the need to temporarily suspend their activities. That necessitated the letter of 5th November 2021 to the chairman of the committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, only.

“After, evaluation and consultations, the committee, in a letter dated 10th November 2021 was okayed to proceed with the conduct of the Zamfara State ward congresses on Saturday 13th, November 2021, which Sen. Marafa participated. This had nothing to do with the 21 days notice for the conduct of wards, local government areas and state congresses in Zamfara State earlier sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which subsists.

“The letter to Alh. Ibrahim Kabir Masari which Sen. Marafa is brandishing is an internal administrative correspondence and was not copied to INEC nor any other agency or person(s) as the case may be.

“This clarification is necessary to guide Sen. Marafa and his cohorts who seem bent on misleading our teeming party members in Zamfara State.

“The party urges Sen. Marafa and his cohorts not to reduce the political issues to a contest of personalities but submit to party supremacy and internal dispute resolution structures adequately provided for by the APC Constitution. Anything outside this amounts to insubordination and indiscipline and the APC constitution is very clear on this.”

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