No court order restraining Zamfara APC congresses – Party chieftain

Dr Sani Shinkafi, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, on Sunday said that there is no order from the Federal High Court restraining the party from conducting congresses in Zamfara.

Shinkafi stated this at a news conference, in Gusau on Sunday, while commenting on the Nov. 13 ward congresses conducted by the party in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC leadership in the state, under the Gov. Bello Matawalle faction, led by Sen. Hassan Nasiha, on Saturday conducted congresses in the 147 wards of the state.

The Congresses took stakeholders by the storm as there was a Federal High Court Order restraining the APC from further action, pending the determination of a suit filed by 10 local governments party chairmen in the state.

The chairmen had filed the matter before the court to contest their dissolution from office before their tenure of ended.

The Gov Mai Mala Buni-led APC National Caretaker and Convention Committee announced the dissolution of all the party executives in the state on June 28, shortly before Gov Bello Matawalle defected to the APC.

The chairmen had instituted the suit against the APC and the National Caretaker Committee chairman as first and second defendants.

They had also joined the Independent National Electoral Commission as the third defendant.

The Court had, however, asked the two parties to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of the substantive suit before it.

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At the resumed hearing of the matter on Nov. 9 in Gusau, the court adjourned to Nov. 17 for ruling on the matter.

The APC leadership under former Gov. Abdul’aziz Yari-led faction, in a statement, however, urged its members in the state to boycott the congresses, organised by the Matawalle faction to respect the court order.

The Senator Kabiru Marafa faction had conducted a parallel ward congresses in parts of Gusau and Tsafe Local Governments.

Shinkafi, in his briefing, however, said that the order given by the federal high court was that both factions should maintain the status quo, pending on the outcome of the judgement in the case of dissolution of the state caretaker committee, led by the Lawal M Liman.

“Therefore as far as I am concerned, the order does not mean to stop the APC leadership in the state from conducting its congresses.

“I am therefore calling on the people of the state to ignore any comments from those who don’t want political stability to reign in the state,” he said.

He said there was no faction in the APC in Zamfara and those claiming they belong to a faction of the party in the state are wasting their time.

“We have only one lawful APC leadership in the state with Gov Bello Matawalle as the leader in the state,” Shinkafi added. (NAN)