Barr. Inuwa Abdulkadir is the National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the North-west zone who took the leadership of the party to court for accusing him of anti-party posturing. In this exclusive interview, the legal practitioner-cum politician discredits his purported expulsion and faults the way the ruling party is being run at the centre. Excerpts:
Daily Trust: You have been in a protracted crisis with the APC right from your ward in Sokoto to the centre. What is the real issue?
Inuwa Abdulkadir: As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any crisis as such. It is the way some people play their own politics and try to drag everybody to misbehave the way they are misbehaving. Personally, by my professional background, I have regard for the rule of law and whatever I do. Those who know me very well, whether at ward level or national level, those who have the opportunity to relate with me and in this politics for almost three decades know that I respect the rule of law, I observe the rule of law and I don’t misbehave. Above all, my focus and vision have always been to serve. I don’t belong to the class of people who have inordinate ambition. I confine myself to what I can do. In terms of collaboration, I am a team player. So, all these things arising now, people want to describe them as crises. I don’t have any crisis but some people have crisis because they have complex in their attempt to dominate their own environment, and they are not the Almighty. If delegates from all parts of the country assembled and elected me, who are you to just confine yourself to a locality and say that you have expelled me whereas you don’t have the powers to do so?
DT: Who are the people underground?
Abdulkadir: It is not a question of underground, they are visible. It will be very unbecoming of me to discuss this matter when it is already in court. But on a general note, I will state that what is happening in the APC today is very unfortunate…I mean the question of observance of the rule of law. During the formation of the APC, many believed that there would be minimal impunity in terms of what we do. Unfortunately, I think, probably, some do not understand what is expected of us or they are being carried away by opportunities given to them as party leaders which is contradicting the principle upon which the APC was established. But I think it is not late, we should realise that we are doing service to the country and we are doing service to the party. We should make amends and do the right thing.
DT: The NWC has affirmed the decision of your ward, local government and state chapter of the APC. What is your take on this?
Abdulkadir: Like I said before, I don’t want to go into the main issues because we are before the court. But in order to make the issue very clear for the understanding of the public, what were the decisions? At a time, somebody, a member of the party, was said to have complained against me at the ward level, which he has the right to do. And the so-called ward executive took their decision and forwarded it to the local government and state level. But if you make a complaint against me, I am entitled to fair hearing and there is a procedure for that. At a particular point when this so-called ward executives who are non-existent in any case, and we know who we elected during the last congresses that was held in May, 2018.
One, I was not invited properly, nobody served me any invitation letter to attend to any committee, not even to attend the local government executive meeting which I am a member and at that point, I wrote a protest letter to the state chairman for their consideration after which I cautioned that a proper thing should be done and that was not done. I therefore proceeded to court for its determination on this. The court upheld my position saying that they don’t have the powers to expel me. Months later, after the court judgment, again there was a meeting of the so-called committee which I don’t think they even understand the composition of the executive committee, saying that there was a vote of no confidence against me which I hear on air. No letter was served on me, and I said this cannot continue like this. I wrote to the national chairman but there was no response. The issue is this, they said they passed a vote of no confidence on me. What does that mean? And they urged the leadership of the party at the national level to do the needful. I read it in the papers, and they wrote a letter to the national chairman, I think since April, and my attention was drawn to it about two weeks ago. But the deputy national chairman south, claimed to have been appointed as a member to chair a committee to look at the matter. I don’t know where the NWC got the power to do so in our constitution.
DT: What exactly did you ask the court to do?
Abdulkadir: I asked the court to look at the appropriate risk of the steps taken by some party leaders, whether they have the powers to do what they said they did and whether they are right to discuss me and whether they have the right to take any decision against me without hearing from me. This is fundamental because I have the right to be heard. This is a constitutionally guaranteed right of all citizens. You cannot just pass a resolution without hearing my own version.
DT: It’s like you are fighting two fronts – Sokoto and Abuja. You were elected the same day with the national chairman but have you ever been on the same page with him?
Abdulkadir: Ask anybody, it is some people that are fighting me because of my stance. I have no issue with anybody, but I will not get myself involved in any conspiracy or collaboration to do injustice to other members of the party. It is not about Sokoto alone. I don’t have any inordinate ambition. As a politician, I open myself to serve. That is my ambition and I can do that in any capacity, not necessarily being part of the leadership of the APC. As I am now, since I am given a responsibility, I have to do my best to discharge those responsibilities or the mandate given to me by members of the party. So, I have no quarrel with anybody.
DT: As national vice chairman, will you say the APC’s outing in 2019 was impressive?
Abdulkadir: I wasn’t really happy because some of these poor outings were avoidable. Avoidable in the sense that if we had conducted and managed our primaries as we should, as expected, and took decisions that were inclusive, all these things would have been avoided. People are disenchanted over the way and manner the primaries were conducted.
DT: But you were part of the leadership
Abdulkadir: I am not isolating myself. I said if the leadership was inclusive in the decision-making process and taking better decisions during the primaries, these things would have been avoided. Secondly, if not for the goodwill of Mr. President what we got would have been much dismal.
DT: Assuming you heard from somewhere that there was a meeting of your party and they did not invite you, would you attend?
Abdulkadir: I don’t attend meetings because I am aware there is going to be a meeting. I am entitled to notice of meetings like any other person. If I am a member of any organ, I am entitled to notice of its meeting. Nobody has the right to exclude me from meetings. You don’t decide that some NWC members are around at the national secretariat of the party then you decide to hold a meeting and take a decision. It is not done that way.
DT: So, you are now waiting for the court decision?
Abdulkadir: Yes, because what they did was just an impunity.
DT: Who did you join in the suit?
Abdulkadir: I took the party’s national chairman, the (Sokoto) state chairman and another officer in Sokoto. They are all in court and they have representations in court. The lawyers appeared to represent the party in court.
