The North East National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Mustapha Salihu has found himself in the middle of a controversial suspension by his ward.
After a similar ‘suspension’ over the weekend of the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani, this is the second chieftain of the party to be so treated in Adamawa State within a couple of days.
Following alleged “gross abuse of office, conspiracy and acts typical of anti-party”, the leadership of the APC in Rumde Ward of Yola North local government area, announced via a statement made public late on Sunday that Mustapha Salihu had been suspended from the party.
They accused the National Vice Chairman of associating with the Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
In the suspension letter addressed to the National Chairman of the party through the acting state chairman and the chairman APC Yola North local government area and jointly signed by the ward’s vice chairman, the secretary and 16 other executive members of the party in the ward, the ward executives wished that the suspension would be favourably acted upon.
The notice of Salihu’s suspension read, “The All Progressives Congress, Rumde ward working committee, Yola North LGA held an emergency meeting on Sunday 19th February, 2023 and considered among many other things before it, the immediate suspension of the north-east vice-chairman of the APC, Comrade Mustapha Salihu over glaring and proven anti-party activities, gross abuse of office and creating crisis within the ranks of the party at all levels which if left unchecked will affect the party at the forthcoming general elections.
“Therefore, in compliance with the relevant provisions of the constitution of our great party, the members of the working committee have adopted and approved the suspension of comrade Mustapha Salihu for the period of six months with immediate effect so as to serve as a deterrent to others in the future.
This committee is very much aware of the responsibilities vested on it by the party and will always ensure the supremacy of the party above any personal interest of any person or group of persons especially when that poses danger to the chances of the party at the polls.
“While appreciating the state working committee of our party for your continued support, we hope our resolution will receive accelerated treatment.”
As in the case of Binani, however, the state leadership of the party has come out to declare Salihu’s suspension null and void.
The Adamawa State Working Committee (SWC) of the APC described the said suspension of Salihu as illegal.
The State Secretary of the Party, Dr. Raymond Chidama, in a statement obtained Monday morning, said faceless persons were being used by the enemies of the party to disrupt the chances of the party winning the coming elections.
In apparent resolve to pave the way for Salihu’s suspension, the Rumde Ward APC executives had first suspended their ward chairman, Abdulkadir Abdullahi who, it is now obvious, resisted the plan against Salihu.
The embattled ward chairman has come out to condemn his suspension, insisting that he remains the chairman and that Mustapha Salihu has done nothing to merit suspension.
Condemning the suspension of the Rumde Ward Party Chairman, the party’s state secretary, Raymond declared that the “interloping attitude” of the Rumde Ward executives is unconstitutional and of no effect.
