Stop recognizing Umar Jibo as party Chairman – Dass APC stakeholders urges State EXCO

By Samuel Luka, Bauchi

As Leadership tussle escalates in Dass local government chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the state Executives of the party in Bauchi have been urged to stop recognizing the chairman of the party, Umar Jibo who they said was impeached in January, 2024 by majority of the party officials.

A chieftain of the party in the local government, Adamu Abubakar who addressed newsmen after a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, commended party members in Dass LG for supporting the decision which saw to the emergence of Iliyasu Garba as Acting chairman.

“We resolved at the meeting today that we should let the whole world know that we visited the state party leadership for about five times to show our support to the decision of the party officials that impeached Umar Jibo, his deputy and his secretary”, he said.

Adamu Abubakar added that the sacked officials of the party in the local government were impeached because of the way and manner they were handling the affairs of the party which was giving the party a bad name.

Abubakar who recalled that the Chairman and two others were impeached by the party officials in the local government with massive votes, said that the impeachment had the blessing of more than two third votes of the party officials in the local government.

He expressed surprised that despite informing the state EXCO of the party and some major stakeholders, the impeached chairman and his two co-travellers are still parading themselves as Chairman, deputy Chairman and Secretary respectively.

“We are disturbed that for more than three weeks after we were asked by the state EXCO to vacate the court case restraining the impeached chairman from parading himself as such, to enable them wade into the matter, they are still parading themselves without being cautioned by the state EXCO”, Abubakar lamented.

“When we approached the state EXCO on the need for them to stop recognizing the three impeached officials with the court order, they told us that they cannot do anything on the case since it’s in the court, that it will amount to contempt of court”, he explained.

According to Abubakar, “to that regard, they advised that we should withdraw the case from the court to enable them do the needful, and as law abiding members of the APC we obeyed by withdrawing the case”.

Abubakar who said the state EXCO were timely informed after withdrawing the court order, regretted that to their dismay, no action has been taken on the matter to date.

He called on the state EXCO to ensure urgent actualization of Jibo’s impeachment, saying that the lukewarm attitude of the state EXCO on the matter has caused anger among party loyalists who are even threatening to dump the party if nothing is not done.

Adamu Abubakar who however, noted that they have pacified the aggrieved party members by assuring to see that the impeachment of the three EXCO members is actualized in order to restore the lost glory of the party in the local government.

He therefore expressed delight that the party faithfuls have out of their love for the APC, decided to heed to their appeal.

“They have declared their unflinching support to what we are doing in Dass towards putting the party in order. We want the party leadership at the state level to know that if this problem continue, it will lead to the downfall of the party in our area”, he warned.

“We want them to take decisive action on the impeached officials since due process was followed in the impeachment”, he demanded.

While appealing to all the elected Lawmakers under the APC from state to National level to stop recognizing the impeached officials, Abubakar pointed out that in Dass, said eighty percent of the party members are in support of the impeachment.

He said, in case of any doubt, the state EXCO should send delegates to the local government on a fact finding mission to ascertain their claims that the impeached officials does not have ground in the area.

“We are calling on all key stakeholders of the party to wade into the matter by bringing lasting solution for the progress of our party in Dass local government area”, he said.

On his part, APC youth leader in the local government, Hashimu Isah (AKA Ashabulo), recalled that when the chairman and the two other officials were impeached, the party EXCO at the state level were officially informed.

According to him, copies of the impeachment decision was made available to all the relevant security agencies, including other stakeholders after which they obtained a court order restraining the impeached chairman from parading himself as chairman.

“He was served with the court order stopping him from engaging in any official duties of the party, but in total disregard, he was handed the Ramadan grains provided for distribution to members by Senator Shehu Buba and he distributed among fewh of his cronies”, he said.

The youth leader recalled that the Leadership of the party in the state had acknowledged the impeachment and called for withdrawal of the court injunction to enable them wade into the matter

He said key stakeholders of the party in the state were visited, including the zonal vice chairman who requested them to withdraw the court order with a promise that they will sit down with them to take final decision on the matter.

“We met the zonal chairman and told him that we have obeyed the party which asked us to withdraw the court order but we want the acting chairman, Iliyasu Garba to take over since due process was adhered to in the impeachment process”, he recalled.

Hashimu Isah explained that the impeached officials were found wanting for offenses bordering on anti-party activities, among others.

When contacted, the Secretary of the party in Dass, Yahaya Yakubu, said that the matter has been duly addressed by party stakeholders which made them to remain the leaders of the party in Dass.

Yakubu who accused the aggrieved persons of thwarting any peace initiatives, said stakeholders meeting was convened three times which the aggrieved members attended but rejected every decision therein.

According to him, a committee was constituted which sat with them but at the end of the sitting they refused to accept the outcome of the meeting.

According to Yakubu, the aggrieved persons sat separately with the member representing Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa federal constituency, Hon Jafaru Gambo Leko, and Senator Representing Bauchi South, Shehu Buba and former speaker Yakubu Dogara who showed their displeasure and appealed to them to sheath their swords but they refused to listen.

According to him, the Leadership of the party at the state level have sat with the aggrieved members more than three times but they refused to listen to them.

“But on our side we are loyal to the leadership of the party at the state level, that is why we carried out the distribution of the Ramadan grains donated by Senator Shehu Buba Umar and we are working for the party”, Yakubu stated.

According to him, most of the aggrieved members have retraced their steps and declared their loyalty to the status quo.

“They declared their loyalty to our leadership and they even wrote a letter to that regard. Some of them recently spoke in the radio that they have abandoned that movement, that’s the true position of things now”, he said.