Dogara, 9 others move against APC leadership over ward/LG congresses

macfranc007 May 23, 2018 IFTTT, Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Nnenna Ibeh

- The Speaker of the House of Representatives has dragged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to court

- Yakubu Dogara alongside nine others filed a suit against the party's national leadership at the Federal High Court in Abuja

- They aggrieved party members said they were in court to nullify the wards and local government congress which took place in Bauchi state

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a different turn as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara have taken legal action against the national leadership of the party.

In a suit filed before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Dogara and nine other APC chieftains from Bauchi state sued the national chairman of the party and others over the conduct of the wards and local government congresses.

Vanguard reports that the defendants in the suit includes: the national chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, the national secretary, Mai Bunu; the state chairman of the party, Tony Macfoy, and Sam Para.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs in the suit are: Dogara, Senator Sulaiman Nazif, Senator Isa Hammah Misau, Senator Muhammad Muhammad, Ibrahim Lame, Ibrahim Zailan, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Captain Mohammed Bala Jibrin, Aminu Tukur and Maryam Garba Bagel.

Speaking to journalists in Bauchi, some of the chieftains said the conduct of the congresses breached the party’s constitution and congress guidelines.

They also alleged that the results of the ward and local government congresses in the state were manipulated.

The aggrieved party members said they decided to take legal action against the party leadership because the May 5 and 12, 2018, were marred by widespread irregularities from the initial preparations to the conduct of the congresses which disenfranchised many aspirants and members of the party from participation.

The chieftains noted that they were in court to nullify the elections which showed that the ward congress - the foundation upon which the conduct of local and state congresses - were predicated and turned out to be a total fiasco.

Also speaking on the matter, a counsel to the plaintiffs, Isa Mohammed, said: “My clients were denied the opportunity to participate in the congresses because the forms were released to them on the day of the election, contrary to the guidelines of the ward congresses that give 24 hours for interested persons to fill the form and return it.”

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the vice president had promised that the crisis within the APC would be resolved soon.

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Yemi Osinbajo said he is hopeful that as a strong party, the APC is committed to offering hope to the electorate.

He also said that the tension building up within the party and its members would be resolved soon.

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