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By, Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
The long-standing leadership crisis in the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in the Bauchi has characteristically deepened with the removal Wednesday of it’s state chairman, Auwal Isah, aka ‘Mai Takalmin Roba’ following fractionalization of the party in the state.
The removal of pioneer state chairman of the party in Bauchi followed an announcement by a faction of the party’s State Executives over allegation of constitutional breaches and loss of confidence in his leadership, a ripple that has long been penetrating in the party’s psyche.
Mohammed Nasir Yahaya is the Party’s State Secretary who Wednesday at State NUJ Secretariat led the Bauchi party’s factional executives to a press conference where he said that Isah was removed over on allegations of financial mismanagement, and failure to operate an official party bank account, as well as unconstitutional handling of party affairs.
Bauchi APM Scribe Yahaya explained that an emergency meeting of the Party’s New Executives had installed Hon. Nasiru Nuru Marafa as the interim chairman of the party in the state.
Yahaya said that the crisis outburst followed the recent defection of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and other government officials to the APM, alleging that the development had created disagreements over the composition and control of the party’s leadership structure.
Auwal Isah, who has been leading the party since 2018, was alleged to altered the names of members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) and introduced individuals whom, he claimed, were not original members of the party but were loyal to the state government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Yahaya alleged, “We have some internal crisis whereby our chairman, Auwal Isah, changed the full names of the executive committee and brought in others who were not in the party but were loyalists of the government and PDP organs who came with the governor when he returned to the APM”.
He told the press that aggrieved members have already submitted complaints and petitions to the party’s national leadership over the allegations, stressing however that their concerns are yet to be resolved.
Yahaya also opioned that there had been an arrangement under which the state government sought to control 70 per cent of the party’s leadership positions, while the original members of the party would retain 30 per cent.
He further explained that the existing party leadership had initially agreed to the proposed arrangement and established a harmonisation committee to reconcile the interests of the old and new members of the party.
It could be recalled that officials of the Bauchi state government hitherto on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have pitched tent with the Allies People’s Movement (APM) after leadership tussle orchestrated by FCT Minister Wike consumed their original party, the PDP.
APM Scribe Yahaya also allegedly recalled that the reconciliation committee met for only four days before abruptly suspending its activities, inconclusively abandoned the harmonisation processes before the party was factionalized
Yahaya said, “We formed a committee for harmonisation, but it sat for only four days before the meeting was suspended indefinitely. There wasn’t anything like harmonisation that took place,”
He added that the aggrieved executive membrs later learnt of plans for a stakeholders’ meeting, which they claimed had not been communicated to them through the appropriate party structures.
Yahaya further explained that the aggrieved subsequently wrote to the national leadership of the APM and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), informing them of their unawareness about any harmonization to streamline the party’s leadership.
According to the factional secretary, the aggrieved have written to Governor Mohammed over the crisis, whereas he assured them of resolving the matter amicably.
Yahaya related that the governor has urged the split members to maintain peace and prevent the disagreements from escalating, particularly as the party prepared for future general elections.
“He told us that since we are in the APM, he knew we wanted our party to win the general elections. He did not want the internal problem to go beyond control, so we are maintaining law and order to calm down everything”
Yahaya also claimed that among the 28 members of the APM’s State Executive Committee (SEC), Auwal Isah was the only one active member steering the ship of the party’s activities in the state before the recent alignment with the dissident PDP members
He further explained that the faction had formally communicated its decision on Isah’s removal to INEC and the national leadership of the party, whereas the announcement for the breakup has been disputed by another faction within the party
Yahaya also claimed that among the 28 members of the APM’s State Executive Committee (SEC), Auwal Isah was the only active member steering the ship of the party’s activities in the state before the recent alignment with the dissident PDP members
He further explained that the faction had formally communicated its decision on Isah’s removal to INEC and the national leadership of the party, whereas the announcement for the breakup has been disputed by another faction within the party.
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