Court Rejects Suit Seeking Ganduje’s Removal As APC Chairman

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the lawsuit seeking the removal of the former governor of Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was contained in a suit filed FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024 with the plaintiff, North Central APC Forum chairman Saleh Zazzaga, who contested the validity of Ganduje’s nomination as the APC National Chairman, who is also the defendant alongside INEC.

In a report by ICIR, Zazzaga also argued that Ganduje did not hail from the North-Central and shouldn’t be in the party of APC.

During the hearing, the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, upon hearing the third defendant’s preliminary objection, which argued that the “North Central APC Forum” the plaintiff used was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), stated that;

Based on the arguments of the 3rd defendant, the onus rested on the claimant to present a certificate of registration from the Corporate Affairs Commission,” the Judge stated.

The Judge also maintained that the group, led by Zazzaga, lacks the legal authority to bring such a lawsuit as it is not a registered entity.

[Sic] The claimant has no locus standi to institute the suit, and I make an order striking out the suit for lack of locus standi, the statement reads.

The subject matter is an internal affair of the political party, I hereby strike out the suit for lack of locus standi, the judge ruled.

Meanwhile, Ganduje was accused of anti-party activities by several factions that emerged within the APC party, including alleged failure to pay statutory dues to the party.

Another case hanging on Ganduje’s neck involves alleged embezzlement of Kano state funds to N57.4 billion, with the corruption documents allegedly stolen in court during August hunger protests.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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