“He said whoever does not accept the court judgment should be crushed. That statement does not portray him as a responsible leader that is willing to reconcile and make the APC one united party in the state,” Mr Shekarau said.
A senator and former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, says his group will appeal Thursday’s judgment of the Court of Appeal that returned the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Mr Shekarau also accused the governor of incitement against members of his group in his remarks on Thursday’s judgment.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja set aside the judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory which invalidated the ward and local government congresses of the APC in Kano State.
The lower court had delivered the judgment in a suit filed by a faction of the party led by Mr Shekarau, which had conducted parallel congresses. The court also declared the congresses of the plaintiffs as valid.
However, on Thursday, the appellate court said the lower court lacks jurisdiction over the case as it is not a pre-election matter but an internal affair of the party, which should be decided by the leadership of the APC.
The judgment hands the control of the APC in Kano back to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
The decisions of the appeal court were delivered by Justices Haruna Tsammani, Gafai and J. Amadi.
Following the ruling, the APC on Thursday presented a certificate of return to Abdullahi Abbas, a loyalist of Mr Ganduje, as the state executives elected at the state chairman of the party.
Speaking on the judgment, Mr Ganduje, in a video in which he spoke in Hausa and posted on Facebook by his new media aide, Abubakar Ibrahim, said “the useless G7 group has been crushed.” G7 refers to the Shekarau faction.
“This is the outcome of what they have done. We are thankful to the people of Kano State, APC members and all those involved in the struggle and we hope that the APC will present a certificate of return to Abdullahi Abbas.
“We shall continue to pray because this is not the end of the matter. We are going to restrategise and intimate our party leaders from the grassroots to the state to be prayerful and cautious about the useless G-7 group because they are still breathing. We will ensure that we crush them,” Mr Ganduje said.
Ganduje’s statement unbecoming of a leader – Shekarau
In his response after a meeting with the members of his group, Mr Shekarau described the governor’s remarks as unbecoming of a leader, saying the remarks have put the lives of members of his group in danger.
“When we were having success in the courts, we did not abuse or disrespect any person. But unfortunately, following their success, Governor Ganduje appealed to violence and maligned us publicly.
“He said whoever does not accept the court judgment should be crushed. That statement does not portray him as a responsible leader that is willing to reconcile and make the APC one united party in the state,” Mr Shekarau said.
The former governor also accused the national leadership of preferential treatment for presenting the certificate of return to Mr Abass.
“They did not present to us the certificate of return despite court judgement in our favour but did that to Ganduje faction in less than two hours of the court judgment,” Mr Shekarau added.
However, Mr Shekarau said the group “received the court judgment in good faith but we have directed our lawyers to analyse the judgment and go to the Supreme Court.
“We shall ensure justice to all APC members in the state by ensuring a purposeful and all-inclusive leadership of the party in the state,” Mr Shekarau said.