Abdullahi Samari Abubakar, chairman of the caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, says disciplinary measures could be taken against Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture. On Saturday, Mohammed said he regrets supporting Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Kwara governor, during the 2019 gubernatorial poll. The minister said under Abdulrazaq, Kwara has gotten into “one chance” — a Nigerian parlance used to refer to theft by deception. Speaking with reporters at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, Abubakar said the rules will apply against the minister if his utterances are found to be “disrespectful” or “causing acrimony”. “I still see the minister as a member of our party because he has not formally told us that he is moving out of the party which I doubt if he will go,” he said. “He is a minister of the federal republic of Nigeria where the APC as a ruling party is running the administration of government. “So I don’t think he will want to move out. But from those utterances he made, the party, APC as a structure, has guidelines over issues. “If we feel that what he said publicly amounts to disrespect or causing acrimony within the party, honestly, we are going to make sure the rules of the party are applied against him and any other person.” When asked if Mohammed could be suspended for his conduct, Abubakar said if his outburst warrants suspension, “definitely the rule of the party is going to apply”. “There are guidelines like I told you,” he said. “If the offense is commensurate with suspending him, or any other, definitely the rule of the party is going to apply because nobody is too big to be sanctioned.” Meanwhile, Kwara APC senators have also expressed their support for Abdulrazaq. Umar Sadiq, senator representing Kwara north, Lola Ashiru, representing Kwara south; and Ibrahim Oloriegbe, senator representing Kwara central, jointly spoke with reporters at the national assembly. In countering the information minister, Sadiq said the funds that they spent was raised by the governor. “Our governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, before he became the governor of Kwara state, was a successful person. He is from a solid family of entrepreneurs and during the election he came up with a lot of resources from his personal funds and friends and family. We didn’t lack resources to run our election,” he said. “Come 2023, because of the work done by our governor and the legislators – senators and house of representatives – the whole people of Kwara state will be sympathetic to us.” The senator said they are working to resolve the issues in the APC in Kwara.

Efforts at reconciling the aggrieved camps in the Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress by the national leadership of the party may have hit the rocks. Indication emerged as certain chieftains of the party stormed the national secretariat to demand new leadership in Imo, Owerri State capital. The team led by former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha demanded the dissolution of the Careraker Committee in the state and insisted that Dan Nwafor who was last November pronounced by a Court of Appeal be reinstated and saddled with the responsibility of conducting fresh Congresses and the membership Registration and revalidation exercise extended by two weeks in Imo State by the APC Caretaker and Extraodinary Convention Planning Committee. ‌Tribune Online checks revealed that a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Bwari, had last November, in a judgement re-affirmed Daniel Nwafor as the authentic chairman of the APC in Imo State in line with an earlier judgement of the court which recognized him as the chairman of the party in the state. Flanked by Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, Dan Nwafor, Dr. Chidinma Uwajimogu, Barr Steve Asimobi, Uche Nwosu amongst other members of his Imo APC Pioneer Group, the former governor of Imo State insisted that only ward, local and state Congresses supervised by Dan Nwafor would be accorded recognition by the group. He said: “We are here because of what is happening in Imo State. Primarily, things are not going right in the state as it affects the party. We are concerned about the upcoming congresses. Certain things need to be put in place before Congress as it affects registration and others. “There has been an issue about the elected excos of the party in the state. The elected excos have not been allowed to function. We are here to bring the party’s attention to it. And we know that our party is a law-abiding party. “A party of rule of law. We have come to ask the party to obey the court judgement that established the right excos in the state which has not been upturned by any court. “That court judgement said Daniel Nwafor executive is the authentic and elected member and the judge rules that not even the NEC of the APC can dissolve it. And the judgement has been there up to the Court of appeal. “And there has not been any other court judgement. High, appeal court judgement has shown that the authentic exco is led by him. Without him, the Congresses will be illegal. We have come to remind the party as a law-abiding party to please obey the court judgement and ensure that the court judgement on the party stands.” Senator Okorocha further declared that his group would not surrender control of the APC structures in Imo State to the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma. “We have come a long way in building this party. I was one of the founding fathers of the party. I brought in All Progressives Grand Alliance with Congress for Progressive Change and Action Congress of Nigeria to form what was known today as APC. I was the one who gave the name APC. “I was the only elected governor from the South East that made up this party. At a time when this party’s name was taboo in the south East. Everybody that became anything in the North came in the favor of President Muhammadu Buhari. But we from the South East sees the name Buhari as taboo at that time. Most people never believe in the party. “The party should be seen to remember those who founded the party. We join the party because of justice. And it must be seen to prevail all the time at all levels. We are here to remind the party and we pray that the party will give it adequate attention that it deserves by first and foremost, allow the leaders of the party to go and register. “How can you have a congress coming without having the leaders like Senator Ararume, Chairman of the party are not registered yet? We have five Honourable members at the party and they are here. If the five members here are not registered, what are we talking about? “We are here to advise the party to do the needful. And obey the court judgment so that the world will not see our party as a party that doesn’t obey court judgment or respect court judgment.”