ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said it may be forced to drag the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIEC) before the court if the commission goes ahead in its plans to exclude the authentic ACN candidates in the local government election.

The party warned that the December local government elections in the state may not hold if the government continues to sideline the duly-constituted state executive of the party in favour of the rogue state-sponsored ‘faction’.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN said as a law-abiding party, it has resolved to ask the courts to stop the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission from conducting the polls on grounds of exclusion.

The party said despite the fact that the Kaduna State Government and KADSIEC were officially notified of the removal of Mr. Soba as its state chairman, the Kaduna State Government in a letter jointly signed by its National Chairman and National Secretary, it has continued to deal only with a rogue ‘faction’ of the party in the state in a blatant disregard for the relevant laws.

ACN said this act of illegality on the part of the Kaduna State Government reached its most absurd and provocative level last week, when KADSIEC handed over materials and documents for the December council polls to the same Soba and, by so doing, chose to unnecessarily overheat an already heated polity.

“It is trite law that whenever there are two or more contending factions of a political party in any state, it is only the National Secretariat of the party in question that can conclusively pronounce on the legitimate one.

“If the Kaduna State Government is not the unseen hand behind the factionalisation and destabilisation of the party in Kaduna state, why has the government - in spite of the letter from the National Secretariat of the ACN clarifying the situation - continued to deal with Barrister Soba, who has been removed as chairman the party in the state?”

While appealing to its supporters in Kaduna State to remain calm and law abiding, ACN called on the state government to immediately retrace its steps by dealing only with the recognised executive of the ACN in the state.