A former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has called on President Bola Tinubu to revisit the political impasse between the leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso and the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
Lukman made the appeal in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday titled, ‘Ganduje: Indefensibility of moral and political burden’.
He also urged the president to look beyond the $413,000 and N1.38bn bribery charges filed against the APC national chairman by the Kano State government.
Both Ganduje and Kwankwaso, two former Kano governors, were allies before they fell out a few years ago over political differences in the state.
On Monday, the media was awash with the suspension of Ganduje by the Legal Adviser of his ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano, Halliru Gwanzo.
Gwanzo said the APC ward leadership took the decision given the bribery allegations hanging on Ganduje’s neck.
In a swift reaction, the National Working Committee of the ruling party and the Kano State chapter of the party faulted and voided the suspension, saying Gwanzo and the indicted party leaders involved don’t have the locus standi to impeach the national chairman.
The ruling party also fingered the NNPP-led government in Kano State as being behind the move.
But Lukman insisted that the President and top APC stakeholders must act fast to broker peace between Ganduje and Kwankwaso if they hope to retain their grip on Kano and, by extension, the entire North, even if it involves negotiating an alliance.
He said, “Being progressives requires honesty, and given the current political reality, we must accept that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and his NNPP have a stronger support base in Kano State. And that Kwankwaso was in our party up to 2018. Also between 1999 and 2019, both worked together, and we need to revisit issues surrounding their disagreement.
“On no account should APC leaders limit the engagement of issues surrounding all the political challenges facing us as a party to only the issue of bribery allegation against Dr Ganduje.
“If this means another round of negotiation for political alliance or a merger with Kwankwaso and NNPP, our leaders should proceed to act accordingly. President Tinubu and the APC must take full advantage of the current reality to renegotiate the support base of the APC.
“Without a doubt, this situation presents an opportunity for President Tinubu to demonstrate his progressive and political dexterity. It is a low-hanging fruit, which, if properly managed, could also save the politics of Dr. Ganduje.
“The hard truth is that, somehow, the politics of Kano State was mismanaged, and as it is, if we were unable to win the election in Kano State when we were in control of the Kano State Government, it would be foolhardy to imagine otherwise.”
