You People May Have Been Sleeping Or Not Listening During APC Meetings, Plateau Former Deputy Speaker, Hon Gagdi Tells Hon. Wokdung, Others

The issues surrounding the petition filed and signed by Hon. Abbas Adamu Wokdung, an aspirant against the Plateau state All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Hon. Letep Dabang, over the recently conducted Chairmanship primary election of the party held in Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State has taken a new turn as Rt. Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, member representing Kantana Constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly and former Deputy Speaker of the House,  opens up with fresh explanations concerning the happenings in the local government and the exercise.

You would recall that the petition dated 21st November, 2017, was also signed by Alhaji Musa Isa Musawa (agent to Hon Abba) and Chief Shem Damisa (APC Stakeholder Plateau State) also addressed to the Commissioner of Police Plateau State Command, is strongly and allegedly accusing the state chairman of the party of changing the game and rules of the primary election, mid-way into the exercise.

The petitioners in their petition further accused the winner of the APC Chairmanship primary election in the Local Government, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi Barau of not being qualified, as at the time of the election to contest the chairmanship primary.

According to the petitioners, “Alh. Mohammed had not resigned as the party guideline requires before and during the election.”

However, while putting holes into the claims of the petitioners while fielding answers to questions from REALITY during an exclusive interview today, Rt. Hon. Gagdi, lamented that it was possible “That these people (the petitioners) were either sleeping or not listening when the party leadership was addressing members before the primary election.”

Rt. Hon. Gagdi, stated that there were six (6) contestants for the chairmanship seat of Kanan during the primary election before and during the election and that none of them withdrew from the contest officially and that because they were not present during the first attempt of the exercise in Kanam, does not make them less contestants.

Gagdi explained that, “The person that won is one of the six (6) names sent from Jos, Plateau State APC Secretariat and through the election officers.”

“Ask the petitioners whether the winner bought his form as and when due? Ask them whether he was screened by the state secretariat like other contestants. If yes, why is he not a candidate qualified for the election?

“Now ask the petitioners whether he wrote a formal letter to withdraw from the contest. Or was he represented?

“I really don’t know how to describe these people! They are just power drunk, say it anywhere and quote me anywhere. The state secretariat of our party told us that, based on the guidelines for the primary election, if one is an appointee or elected party officer, he or she should resign before election but, for civil servants, they should not resign until after the conduct of the party’s primary elections. I know for a fact that the party had briefed stakeholders, government officials, in the different stakeholders meetings that were organized or called before the primaries of the party.

“The wisdom behind that to my mind is that the party does not want a lot of civil servants to be disengaged from their jobs, especially if they lose at the primaries. The is based on a supreme court judgment that allow civil servants to be members of political parties and play active roles.

“So since the law allows the civil servants to be card carrying members of political parties, then they can contest. So, what are they talking about?

“May be at the time the party leadership was briefing stakeholders, these petitioners, were busy sleeping at the meeting, otherwise, they would not have brought this petition or made these allegations!”

Source: realitynewspaper.com.ng