Zamfara: Shinkafi Asks APC to Sanction Yari for Fueling Crisis

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulahi Sani Shinkafi, has asked the party to discipline the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazizi Yari, for factionalising the party in the state. Shinkafi, who is a close ally of the Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, accused Yari of instigating crisis in the state chapter of APC.

Speaking to THISDAY yesterday, Shinkafi said, “The former governor has factionalised the party in Zamfara State and acted in total disregard of the directive of the national leadership of APC led by Governor Mai-Mala Buni to dissolve the state executive of the party. In line with Section 21 of the APC constitution, he has committed an offence and is liable to face sanction.”

Shinkafi also alleged that the former governor was trying to undermine the leadership of the party in the state, now under Matawalle. He said the relevant section of the APC constitution, which provided for disciplinary measures against erring members, should be activated against Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa, to serve as deterrence to others in future.

Mattawalle was asked by the national chairman of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai-Mala Buni of Yobe State, to lead the party in Zamfara shortly after his defection from PDP. But Yari and Marafa went to Kaduna rejected the proclamation by the APC national chairman. They insisted that the structures of APC in Zamfara remained with them.

Earlier, while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Shinkafi described the call by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on banks and other financial institutions to be wary of transactions with Matawalle as erroneous. He said PDP needed not waste their time on frivolities, adding that there are examples of persons who defected to other parties without contravening the law.

According to him, former Senate President Bukola Saraki had defected to APC from PDP as a senator and a recent example is the defection of Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom to PDP.

Shinkafi also quoted court cases involving the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, to buttress his point, saying the court did not order his removal from office because he defected to another party. He cited Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, which he said granted the governor constitutional immunity from any civil or criminal proceeding.

Shinkafi argued that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, did not provide defection as grounds to unseat an elected governor.

“The provisions of the 1999 Constitution are very clear on the grounds for the removal of an executive governor of a state from office and defection to another political party is not one of such grounds,” he reiterated.

Shinkafi said it was laughable that the PDP that celebrated the defection of Governors Samuel Ortom and Godwin Obaseki of Benue and Edo States, respectively, from APC to PDP could attempt to remove Matawalle from office for joining APC.