ernorThe Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has said that the state government would institute a legal action against President Muhammadu Buhari if he decides not to contest the 2019 presidential election.
The governor, during an interaction with journalists on Friday in Abuja, said he told the President when he came to Kano some time ago that any time he decides not to contest, the state government would take him to court and that they were waiting for him to say no, and then they would sue him.
Ganduje, while answering a question on whether he would support the president for second term, said “APC governors want Mr President to continue” but Buhari had yet to make up his mind.
“I am happy that it is not the President that said he wants to continue, it is the people that are saying ‘continue’, but Mr President has not made up his mind yet.
“When he came to Kano, I told him that anytime he decides not to contest, we would take him to court. Kano State government will take him to court anytime he decides not to contest. So, we are waiting for him.
“In this country, we saw a president who spent billions of naira on third term. So, what is the ruse about a constitutional second term? Some people spent billions of naira in order to go for third term. I think it should not be news or something like that,” he said.
Governor Ganguje also disclosed that he would be seeking the ticket for second term in his state.
“In Kano, people are saying four plus four, that is, they are urging me to contest again, but I, too, feel that, in order to continue with the good development that we have started. Development requires some time and the constitution has given four years and another four years in order to consolidate what one has started.
“I am convinced that I, too, will seek for second term and people are also urging me to do so. Eventually, it will be left to the people to decide whether I will qualify or not,” he stated.
Ganduje also told journalists that the agenda for next Monday meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the ratification of timetable for ward and state congresses, which would culminate in the conduct of the national convention to elect a new set of national officers for the party.
The Kano State governor maintained that he had never supported tenure elongation as he noted that it was a grave infraction on the party’s constitution.
He said: “Yes, there was controversy on this even though yesterday, we were able to put it to rest. But let me tell you the issues involved. Those who are advocating tenure elongation, they are advocating on the premise that when we hold congresses and convention, according to their own perception, there will be a lot of problems and those problems will linger into the election period. Well, that is a perception. It could be that way and it could be that some people wanted to retain power. Therefore, that reason was biased.
“However, I don’t belong to that school of thought. The constitution of our party has made a provision for four years and at the end of it, we have to hold congresses and convention. The constitution of Nigeria has also provided for that, so we have no reason whatsoever.”
“If you are saying that there would be some problems, problems are parts of the ingredients of politics. There is no way you can practise democracy in a developing country without having some problems.
“There must be problems. There must be divergent views and disagreements. There will never be a time that things will be 100 per cent normal. So, even if there is a problem, that is part of democracy and we will be able to move forward.
“So, for those who thought they would be able to continue, we said no and so I think Mr President finally hit the nail on the head by saying that he is not in favour of any tenure elongation.
“Tenure elongation is undemocratic. It may lead us to litigation which will not be good for the party and we are happy that we have convinced the few governors that were for the elongation and on Monday, we hope to have our NEC meeting where the previous decision will be reversed and by then timetable will be out for congresses at the ward level, congress at local government level, congress at the state level and finally convention at the national level.
“I think that is the situation and I am happy to say that the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum issued a statement. The chairman of the APC Governors Forum also issued a statement and the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, made a statement as well to say that all is well.”
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