Police seals PDP primaries venue in Kano as Ganduje wins APC Primaries

Crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano further escalated as Police command in the state barricaded venue of the party’s gubernatorial primaries.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje yesterday returned unopposed  as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for 2019 gubernatorial election in Kano. He polled 2,740,847 votes. The chief returning officer for the APC gubernatorial direct primaries, Dr. Pius Odubu said the Governor Ganduje was voted by party members across the 484 wards across the 44 local government areas to bear the party’s flag in 2019 general election.

Kano PDP governorship primaries earlier scheduled for last Sunday was later postponed by the national headquarters till Monday pending resolution of challenges bedeviling the party in Kano.

A member of Kwankwasiyya group of PDP Comrade, Aminu Abdulsalam, accused the Police of acting the script of the Federal Government to cripple the party structure in Kano. He insisted that the security agencies have no authority to prevent the opposition party from holding its lawful primaries.

Abdulsalam, a political associate of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso also challenged the Police from preventing the Kwankwasiyya members from accessing the Luggard House, the Kwankwasiyya headquarters in the state.

According to him, PDP in Kano would not be intimidated by the Police from carrying out their lawful primaries.

“We are all from Kano and we have the right of associate to belong to political party of our choice. We are aware the federal government and APC are jittering and intimidated of Kano PDP because of our strong and massive support. But we would not be intimidate we would go ahead to conduct our primaries let the Police come and kill all of us. The Police have no right to stop us from conducting political activities”. Abdulsalam lamented.

Also reacting, the director, campaign organization of Alh. Salihu Sagir Takai, a governorship aspirant, Barr. Faruq Iya Sambo said the party was still waiting for the Police for approval to conduct its primaries. He said delegates from across the party’s structure were ready for the primaries to vote their choice but the sealing of the venue of the primaries affected the morale of delegates drawn from the 44 local government areas.

When contacted the Police spokesperson in Kano, SP Magaji Musa Majiya said the Police was acting on court orders on the PDP leadership tussle in Kano. Majiya said there was existing court orders which reversed the dissolution of the party leadership in the state and should be maintained.

The Secondus-led national working committee directed the dissolution of the PDP Kano executive and replaced it with a caretaker committee led by Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, a staunch associate of Senator Kwankwaso. But the Masa’ud Doguwa-led leadership had since challenged the decision in court with orders insisting on status quo.

Eight PDP aspirants are presently jostling for the coveted seat of the Kano state governor.