Niger APC, PDP bicker over swearing -in of LG chairman
Another round of political crisis is looming between the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the refusal of the Niger state government to swear-in the chairman of Magama Local Government Area.
The state APC is opposed to Governor Abubakar Sani -Bello swearing- in the Magama Local Government chairman because the party has appealled the ruling granted by a court in Minna.
APC state Chairman, Mohammed Imam, made his party’s position known on Monday, at the party’s secretariat in Minna.
The party chairman briefed newsmen following speculations that a new council chairman of PDP extraction would be sworn -in following the judgement delivered by the state high court on April 13.
Imam declared that the case is already before the appeal court seeking a redress, therefore, “it will be counter-productive and embarrassing to the party, and the current administration if the governor did anything to the contrary.”
He explained that the PDP has the right to go to court, but they must be guided by the laws and rules of the processes.
The chairman hinted that the party hitherto had 33 internal cases arising from its primary election, majority of which he disclosed have been struck out.
Imam wared that the APC’s appeals committee is in place to punish party members who instituted legal action against the party without exhausting all internal conflict resolution mechanisms within the party.
The party’s state Secretary, Mohammad Liman while shedding more light on the matter, said that the state high court on April 4, voided the APC l primary conducted on September 10, 2019, after the party’s candidate, Salisu Ubandoma had been sworn-in as chairman of Magama Local Government Area.
“The court then gave the victory to one Sufiyan Yahaya of PDP disqualifying the APC candidate over contradictory birth dates in his personal data form and school certificate.
“The party appealled the judgment on March 16 and the incumbent chairman on March 20, also appealed the judgment for stay of execution in appeal number CA/ABJ/2060/2020.
“Section 243, sub – Section 1 and 2 of the constitution unequivocably, states that an appeal should be within 21 days of any judgment and that the status quo must remain until the determination of the appeal,” he concluded.
