There are indications that all may not be well with the Kano state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a cold war may have ensued between the State governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso and the party’s presidential Flagbearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
A member of the party and National Coordinator; Concerned APC Stakeholders, Alhaji Bashir Mohammed who addressed pressmen in Kano on Wednesday said the crisis which has already polarised the party along loyalty lines is as a result of the high handedness, viciousness and undemocratic posture of the presidential candidate.
Bashir made this observation after Buhari’s visit to Kano where the presidential aspirant received an overwhelming reception but refused to acknowledge the APC governorship flag bearer as is the usual practice.
The group alleged that Gen. Buhari has refused to recognise any other power bloc within the party especially the Kwankwasiya movement which is acclaimed to be one of the biggest blocs in the party nationwide and thereby forcing other members of the party to scamper for greener pasture elsewhere.
Mohammed said: “Political watchers have attributed his refusal to handover the party’s flag to the state governorship aspirant, Alhaji Umar Ganduje during the just concluded presidential rally, as a fall out of this feud as he was not disposed to Ganduje ‘ s emergence owing to the latter’s membership of the Kwankwasiya.
“This rivalry many believe has been in existence since the founding of the APC where legacy members of the party were not comfortable with the newcomers whom they claimed had come to take their place.
“It has also been gathered that the lack of trust between Kwankwaso and Buhari may also stem from the latter’s comments in 2010 when he called the General a serial coupist.”
According to Bashir the behaviour of the General has brought about irreconcilable divisions within the party, saying Buhari had refused to recognise Alh. Umar Ganduje because he was not the retired general’s choice for the ticket and warned he has once again used his hands to destroy whatever votes he was counting on Kano APC to deliver to him as many have gone their ways.
While reminding the four time presidential aspirant of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), experience “where he forced one of his loyalists Col. Jafaar on the people even as Mohammed Abacha was the preferred candidate, which cost him the elections”, he further explained that the attempt by Buhari to always reward those who helped him in plotting coup in the army with every given opportunity is not acceptable to anybody in the Kwankwasiya movement in particular and Nigeria in general.”
Speaking further the party stalwart added that the divisions within the party caused by the ‘Buhariyyas’ as they are fondly referred to was in the first place should have been avoidable but the General’s insistence on unpopular issues in a democracy has proven to the whole world that he is not yet ready for the job of governing Nigeria under a rigid constitution and rule of law.
He also blamed the crisis on rumour mongers who have began accusing Kwankwaso of instigating the recent certificate scandal to ensure Buhari is substituted for another northerner which most likely would have been him.
He said detractors of the party had already credited Kwankwaso’s usual nocturnal meetings to scheming geared at unseating or eventually betraying Buhari.
He lamented that every attempt to get the national secretariat of the party to intervene has failed which has forced members to believe that the cult-like leadership of the party at Abuja is deceiving Nigerians with change as a slogan and may be up to something terrible at the end of the day.
He therefore told Buhari to forget the cooperation of Kano people at the poll as the people have already gone their separate ways except Buhari is substituted with any other candidate before the election proper.
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