A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna, the APC Akida (True APC), on Monday passed a vote of no confidence on the administration of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The faction also ordered Mr. El-Rufai to leave the APC because according to them, they will never recognise him as the State Governor under the party.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, Maitaimaki Tom Maiyashi, Chairman, Executive Committee of APC Akida, said the state is walking into another circle of avoidable crises.
“El-Rufai should be the one who should leave, we shall not dump the APC because of him and we do not recognise him as a Governor under our party, APC,” he said.
He said two years down the line, the people of the state have only witnessed greater hardships, dehumanisation and complete disregard for the basic sense of humanity.
According to Mr. Maiyashi, the current state of affairs in Kaduna is characterised by the near-total absence of leadership of the party at all levels. “The party is deliberately weakened and virtually ineffective.
He said: “Mercenaries are hired to attack individuals and anybody who dares any opinion meant to add value to public policy.
“The only opinion or input respected is those of hired consultants specifically recruited from outside the state who do not even understand our environment and lack the commitment to address our developmental priorities.
“These cronies and agents so recruited have virtually rendered the state civil service redundant and inactive. Morale in the civil service today is at its lowest ebb. Local Government Administration has been badly fractured, weakened and literary strangulated.”
Continuing, Mr. Maiyashi said: “Regrettably, the state is walking into another circle of avoidable crises. This time around, it is the ‘attack’ on traditional and community institutions-institutions that have sustained our sense of community for ages from pre-colonial days.
“But, the people of Kaduna State should be prepared for the worst is yet to come. Available information beyond the sacking of the 313 district heads and 4,453 village heads , other civil servants including local government staff, teachers and other professionals have been lined up for dismissal.”
The APC Akida Chairman alleged that official figures put Kaduna State as the second most indebted state in the country.
According to him, “On yet another front, the state has presented a request for a World Bank loan facility to the tune of 350 US Dollars to the National Assembly through the Presidency.
“The Governor has so much energy fighting to destroy his own party that brought him to power.
“We ask, what is the wisdom in harassing Kasuwan Barci Traders to build a Dubai modern shopping mall? What is the wisdom in auctioning public assets developed over several decades? What is the wisdom in destroying community identity and security such as the mindless sacking of all district head and over four thousand village heads? What is the wisdom in securing a huge foreign loan from World Bank when the state is already heavily burdened with external loans running into several billion?”
Maiyashi described the Zaria Water project commissioned on the 29th May, 2017 as the most classical fraud meant to win honour fraudulently. “There is no water in Zaria. What a shame!
“We, either as members of the ruling party, or as citizens and critical stakeholders irrespective of party affiliation do not support the anti-people policies of Governor Nasiru El-Rufai and we will never do so. We will fight him.
“We put our communities and our elders on notice on this sensitive issue that the Governor is actually aiming at pulling down the traditional institution in its entirety,” he said.
He called on the State House of Assembly to come clean on these issues “by publicly explaining to the people their role in this destructive and insulting policy that could potentially place community security on the edge.
“The ‘change project’ has only succeeded in producing a mega wrecking machine that has destroyed the integrity of our party , and taken all of us to the slaughter lab,” he added.
He said APC Akida will continue to work for peace and certainly protect and sustain the honor and integrity of the party.
Among those who attended the press conference were Isa Ashiru, the party’s governorship aspirant who lost to Mr. El-Rufai during the 2015 primaries; Senator Shehu Sani; former Peoples Socratic Party Chairman and Chieftain of the APC, Yaro Makama; Ambassador Sule Buba; retired Admiral Ibrahim Iko, former Chief of Naval Staff; as well as Chairman, Liberty Television and Radio, Tijjani Ramalan.
•Photo by Garba Ahmed shows, L-R; Retired Admiral Ibrahim Iko, former Chief of Naval Staff; Chairman, Liberty Television and Radio, Tijjani Ramalan; Senator Shehu Sani; Maitaimaki Tom Maiyashi, Chairman, Executive Committee APC Akida; Isa Ashiru, APC governorship aspirant who lost to Mr. El-Rufai during the 2015 primaries . . . at the APC Akida (True APC) press conference Monday in Kaduna.
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