Inuwa Abdulkadir is the embattled national vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the North-West zone who dragged the leadership of the party to court for accusing him of anti-party posturing. In this exclusive interview, the legal practitioner cum politician discredited his purported expulsion and faulted the way the ruling party is being run at the centre.
You have been in a protracted crisis with the APC, right from your ward in Sokoto to the centre. What is the real issue as you are being accused of anti-party activities?
As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any crisis. It is the way some people play their own politics, trying to drag everybody to misbehave the way they are misbehaving. By my professional background, I have regard for the rule of law and whatever I do. Those who know me very well and those who have the opportunity to relate with me know that I respect 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.
People want to describe all these things arising now as crisis because they have complex in their attempt to dominate their own environment, but they are not the Almighty. They are trying to determine the destiny of every member of the party, particularly in Sokoto State. This will never happen because it is only the Almighty who created everyone that has the prerogative to determine the destiny of every one of us.
The politics being played around brings the character of the people involved to the fore, in terms of their impunity and arbitrariness, which will never work. You even have to define and situate what somebody means by anti-party activities. I am a leader of the party in my own right. I was elected twice in that capacity to serve as a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) and chairman of the North- West zone of the party. I was selected through a valid convention and was elected by the convention, which is an assemblage of delegates from the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). During the last convention, I contested with four other persons who were sponsored by the same characters and I was overwhelmingly elected. I didn’t compel anybody to elect me. If delegates from all parts of the country assembled and elected me, who are you to confine yourself to a locality and say you have expelled me, whereas you don’t even have the powers to do so?
Who are the people underground?
It is not a question of underground; they are visible. I am reluctant in speaking about it because I am already in the court of law. So, this matter is subjudice. 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 there would be minimal impunity in terms of what we do. Unfortunately, I think some do not understand what is expected of us or they have been carried away by opportunities given to them as party leaders, which is contradicting the principle upon which the party was established. But I think it is not late. We should realise that we are doing service to the country and the party. We should make amends and do the right thing.
The NWC has affirmed the decision of your ward, local government and the Sokoto State chapter of your party. What is your take on this affirmation?
Although I don’t want to go into the main issues because we are before the court, there’s the need 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 to the state level. But if you make a complaint against me, I am entitled to fair hearing and there is a procedure for that. I was not invited properly – nobody served me any invitation letter to attend any committee; not even to attend the local government executive meeting, which I am a member. At that point, I wrote a protest letter to the state chairman for their consideration, after which I cautioned that 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 judgement, again there was a meeting of the so-called committee (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 heard on air. No letter was served on me. And I said this could not continue like this.
I wrote to the national chairman, but there was no response. They said they passed a vote of no confidence on me, but 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. They wrote a letter to the national chairman since April and my attention was drawn to it about two weeks ago. 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. The disciplinary procedure or investigation procedure is well spelt under Article 21 of our constitution. The deputy national chairman, South called me, but I told him I was in Sokoto. He promised to get back to me, but he did not.
Almost a week after I arrived Abuja, I receive a letter and I informed them that this matter is subjudice. We have to allow the court to determine it. That is where we are, only for me to hear that there was a meeting of the NWC. I am a member but I was not invited to that meeting. They said they had upheld the disciplinary action against me. What are they upholding? Are they upholding the vote of no confidence against me? And later, as an afterthought, a notice was issued to say that they didn’t have the power to expel me, but they were suspending me, subject to ratification by the NEC. You can see the confusion.
Unfortunately for them, I have all the copies of letters from Sokoto. It is not something that I will be joining issues with the national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole or the national publicity secretary, Malam Issa-Onilu on the pages of newspapers. I observe decorum and the rule of law.
What exactly did you ask the court to do?
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.
It’s like you are fighting on 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?
Some people are fighting me because of my stance. I have no issues with anybody and I will not get myself involved in any conspiracy or collaboration to do injustice to other members of the party. I don’t have any inordinate ambition. As a politician, my ambition is to serve, and I can do that in any capacity, not necessarily being part of the leadership of the APC.
Would you say the APC outing in 2019 was impressive?
I wasn’t really happy. These poor outings were avoidable if we had conducted and managed our primaries as expected.
But you were part of the leadership?
I am not exonerating myself. If not for the goodwill of Mr. President, what we got would have been much dismal.
