APC Dass LG embroiled in leadership crisis, as aggrieved members insist party chairman must go

By Samuel Luka

As leadership tussle escalates in Dass local government chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Bauchi State executives of the party have been urged to stop recognizing the chairman of the party, Umar Jibo who they said was impeached in January, 2024 by majority of the party officials.

A chieftain of the party in the local government, Adamu Abubakar who addressed newsmen after a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, commended party members in Dass LG for supporting the decision which saw to the emergence of Iliyasu Garba as Acting chairman.

“We resolved at the meeting today that we should let the whole world know that we visited the state party leadership for about five times to show our support to the decision of the party officials that impeached Umar Jibo, his deputy and his secretary”, he said.

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Adamu Abubakar who said the chairman and two others were impeached due to the way and manner they were handling the affairs of the party which was giving the party a bad name, also recalled that they were impeached by the party officials in the local government with massive votes.

He expressed surprised that despite informing the state EXCO of the party and some major stakeholders, the impeached chairman and his two co-travellers are still parading themselves as Chairman, deputy Chairman and Secretary respectively.

“When we approached the state EXCO on the need for them to stop recognizing the three impeached officials with the court order, they told us that they cannot do anything on the case since it’s in the court, that it will amount to contempt of court”, he explained.

According to Abubakar, “to that regard, they advised that we should withdraw the case from the court to enable them do the needful, and as law abiding members of the APC we obeyed by withdrawing the case”.

He called on the state EXCO to ensure urgent actualization of Jibo’s impeachment, saying that the lukewarm attitude of the state EXCO on the matter has caused anger among party loyalists who are even threatening to dump the party if nothing is not done.

While thanking the party members for their unflinching support to the Acting chairman of the party, the meeting begged the state EXCO to do the needful to avert the downfall of the party in the local government.

“We want them to take decisive action on the impeached officials since due process was followed in the impeachment”, he demanded.

While appealing to all the elected Lawmakers under the APC from state to National level to stop recognizing the impeached officials, Abubakar pointed out that in Dass, eighty percent of the party members are in support of the impeachment.

On his part, APC youth leader in the local government, Hashimu Isah (AKA Ashabulo), recalled that when the chairman and the two other officials were impeached, the party EXCO at the state level were officially informed.

According to him, copies of the impeachment decision was made available to all the relevant security agencies, including other stakeholders after which they obtained a court order restraining the impeached chairman from parading himself as chairman.

“He was served with the court order stopping him from engaging in any official duties of the party, but in total disregard, he was handed the Ramadan grains provided for distribution to members by Senator Shehu Buba and he distributed among fewh of his cronies”, he said.

The youth leader recalled that the Leadership of the party in the state had acknowledged the impeachment and called for withdrawal of the court injunction to enable them wade into the matter.

Hashimu Isah explained that the impeached officials were found wanting for offenses bordering on anti-party activities, among others.

When contacted, the Secretary of the party in Dass, Yahaya Yakubu, said that the matter has been duly addressed by party stakeholders which made them to remain the leaders of the party in Dass.

Yakubu who accused the aggrieved persons of thwarting any peace initiatives, said stakeholders meeting was convened three times which the aggrieved members attended but rejected every decision therein.

According to him, a committee was constituted which sat with them but at the end of the sitting they refused to accept the outcome of the meeting.

Yakubu said the aggrieved persons who sat separately with Rep member for Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa federal constituency, Hon Jafaru Leko, Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South, former speaker Yakubu Dogara and the state EXCO, refused to accept their advises to sheath their swords.

He noted that the Jibo led EXCO has remained loyal to the state EXCO, which made them to distribute the Ramadan grains donated by Senator Shehu Buba Umar to all loyal members of the party.

According to him, most of the aggrieved members have retraced their steps and declared their loyalty to Jibo’s led EXCO, adding that, some of them recently spoke in the radio that they have abandoned that movement.