The lingering crisis surrounding the emergence of a new executive for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Taraba State has taken a fresh turn, as an aggrieved chairmanship aspirant, Alhaji Haruna Hadi Lau, has dragged the party before the Federal High Court in Jalingo.
Lau alleged that he was unjustly excluded from the process that produced a consensus candidate during the party’s recently concluded state congress.
Speaking with journalists in Jalingo weekend, the aspirant insisted that he never stepped down for any candidate, contrary to claims circulating within the party, emphasizing that the process that led to the emergence of the party’s state chairman lacked transparency and fairness.
He further alleged that officials assigned to conduct the congress were not allowed to properly engage with contestants prior to the exercise.
“The congress was conducted without my knowledge because I did not see the election committee and the appeal committee. If they were on the ground, they ought to have met with all the contestants before the congress, but that did not happen,” Lau said.
Lau claimed that the committees responsible for conducting the exercise were allegedly hijacked and deliberately kept away from some contestants, including himself.
Displaying the receipt for his purchased chairmanship nomination form before journalists, the aspirant expressed disappointment that the party leadership failed to explain to him and his supporters why he was allegedly excluded from the caucus meeting that eventually produced the consensus candidate.
“I did not step down for anybody. I bought my form and was prepared to contest, but the process was not transparent,” he maintained.
Lau further disclosed that he has formally petitioned the process and approached the court seeking redress, stressing that the alleged compromise of the committees left him with no option but to challenge the outcome legally.
The development has also sparked growing discontent among some members of the party in the state. Some aggrieved party members who spoke with journalists expressed concern that the manner in which the congress was conducted could negatively affect the party’s fortunes in future elections.
They alleged that long standing members of the party were sidelined during the congress, paving the way for what they described as “new APC members” to occupy key leadership positions in the state.
According to them, several members of the newly constituted executive were formerly members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The concerned members warned that unless the national leadership of the party intervenes to address the grievances, the internal crisis could deepen and undermine party unity ahead of future elections.
They therefore called on the national leadership of the APC to urgently intervene and resolve the dispute.
In a swift reaction, the party’s state spokesperson, Aaron Artimas, dismissed the allegations, explaining that the positions in the state executive were zoned and allocated to various stakeholders to nominate candidates.
According to him, the stakeholders submitted a list of nominees which was later endorsed by the party’s caucus, made up of former elected leaders.
“The positions were zoned and given to stakeholders to produce candidates. The caucus, which comprises former elected leaders, agreed on the list presented by the stakeholders, and the nominees were given forms to complete,” Artimas said.
He added that the governor, as the leader of the party in the state, was permitted to present a candidate of his choice for the chairmanship position.
Artimas also questioned Lau’s claim of purchasing a nomination form, stating that the party had no record of him submitting any form through the appropriate channels.
“He did not give us any form or indicate that he bought a form. If you buy a form, you are expected to submit it through the relevant channel. Since he did not submit any form, how are we supposed to know that we had two candidates interested in the chairmanship position?” he said.
Taraba APC crisis deepens as aggrieved aspirant heads to court