Tension in APC Bwari as stakeholders reject plan to drop chairmanship candidate

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bwari Area Council, Abuja, is facing internal crisis over moves to drop Hon Joshua Musa Ishaku, winner of the June chairmanship primary, from the party’s ticket ahead of the forthcoming FCT Area Council election.

Ishaku, who was declared the winner of the APC primary in June after polling all 33 delegate votes, is now facing disqualification after the party’s Election Appeal Committee reportedly recommended his removal.

The development has sparked outrage among party stakeholders in Bwari, with fears mounting that the crisis could hurt APC’s chances at the polls.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the APC Stakeholders Forum in Bwari described the recommendation as unjust and warned that it could trigger voter apathy and internal sabotage.

The statement, jointly signed by Musa Dikko, former chairman of Bwari Area Council and chairman of the forum, and Shuaibu Musa, APC secretary in the council, appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the party’s national leadership to intervene.

The forum urged the party to uphold the outcome of the June 25 primary, saying any attempt to overturn it would compromise the credibility of APC.

“Hon Joshua Ishaku emerged the choice of the delegates by polling all the 33 votes to clinch the Bwari Area Council chairmanship ticket of the ruling party,” the statement read.

The controversy began after one of the aspirants, Hon Haruna Audi Shekwolo, who received zero votes during the primary, challenged the result in court. The case was struck out by the Federal High Court in Abuja for lack of evidence.

However, Shekwolo later petitioned the party’s Election Appeal Committee, whose decision has now become the centre of the dispute.

“The manner the committee conducted the matter and its outcome have drawn the anger of most party members in the Area Council who have accused the committee of bias, injustice and compromise,” the forum said.

According to the stakeholders, the committee’s actions violated Article 20 of the APC constitution, which mandates that all parties involved in an election dispute must be given a fair hearing.

“Article 20 of the party’s constitution provides that an Election Appeal Committee shall investigate complaints by inviting the petitioner and all parties involved to present their cases to ensure fair hearing and justice. The committee deliberately skipped these basic steps. No one invited Hon Joshua, the winner of the primary election, yet the committee went ahead to make erroneous recommendations,” the statement added.

They warned that the party risks damaging its image by disregarding due process and urged leaders to act swiftly to avoid alienating voters.

“This is about the future of APC and the imperative need of presenting a popular candidate who has the political and intellectual capacity to win the forthcoming council election and be able to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to win the 2027 presidential election,” the forum said.